THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 


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Longitude        Kast    100     from        Gr 


CHINESE  EMPIRE 

From  A  Wajr/arer  in  China 

by  Elizabeth  Kendall 

SCALE  OK  MILKS 


THE  DEVELOPMENT 
OF  CHINA 

BY 

KENNETH  SCOTT  LATOURETTE 

FORMERLY  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF  YALE  IN  CHINA 

REVISED  EDITION 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 

HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT,   1917  AND  IQZO,  BY  KENNETH  SCOTT  LATOURETTE 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


PREFACE  TO  THE  REVISED  EDITION 

SUCH  important  developments  have  taken 
place  in  the  Chinese  situation  in  the  little  over 
three  years  that  have  elapsed  since  this  book 
was  first  published  that  it  has  seemed  wise  to 
add  an  account  of  them  to  the  sixth  chapter. 
At  the  same  time  such  mistakes  in  the  text  as 
have  been  disclosed  in  the  months  that  the 
book  has  been  in  use  have  been  corrected,  a 
few  titles  of  the  better  recent  works  on  China 
have  been  added  to  the  bibliography,  and 
Chapter  VII  has  been  modified  in  a  few  places 
to  make  it  accord  with  existing  conditions. 
The  author  wishes  to  express  his  appreciation 
of  the  friendly  criticisms  which  have  come 
from  many  quarters  and  which  have  in  part 
been  incorporated  in  the  corrections.  It  is 
hoped  that  because  of  these  changes  the  book 
may  be  of  larger  use  to  those  who,  either  as 
teachers  or  as  students,  wish  an  introduction 
to  the  history,  culture,  and  problems  of  the 
great  Asiatic  republic. 

July,  1920 


2231773 


THE  author  wishes  to  express  his  appreciation  of  the 
courtesy  of  Professor  F.  W.  Williams,  of  Yale  Univer- 
sity; Professor  A.  Forke",  of  the  University  of  California; 
and  Professor  W.  F.  Ogburn,  of  Reed  College,  to  whose 
careful  and  kindly  criticism  is  due  a  large  part  of  any 
value  that  this  book  may  have. 


CONTENTS 

INTRODUCTION /   ".      .    xi 

I.  GEOGRAPHIC  BACKGROUND  OF  CHINESE  HISTORY    .      1 

II.  ORIGIN  AND  FORMATIVE  CENTURIES        ...    15 

HI.  FROM  THE  HAN  DYNASTY,  THE  END  OF  THE  FORMA- 
TIVE PERIOD,  TO  THE  FIRST  WAR  WITH  ENGLAND, 
THE  INITIAL  SHOCK  OF  THE  WESTERN  IMPACT 
ON  CHINA 40 

IV.  CHINESE  CULTURE  AT  THE  BEGINNING  OF  INTIMATE 

CONTACT  WITH  THE  WEST 86 

V.  CHINA  FROM  ITS  FULLER  CONTACT  WITH  THE  WEST 

TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN,  1834-1894  .      .      .139 

i 
VI.  THE  TRANSFORMATION   OF   CHINA,   1894-1920      174 

VII.  PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS  OF  CHINA  .      .V  .        248 

BIBLIOGRAPHY    " »     .        273 

INDEX 283 


INTRODUCTION 

THE  eyes  of  the  world  are  more  and  more 
turned  toward  China.  We  are  coming  to  be 
profoundly  interested  in  the  fate  of  that  great- 
est of  Asiatic  peoples.  And  it  is  well  that  we 
are.  No  other  existing  nation  can  look  back 
over  as  long  a  past  of  continuous  development 
as  can  China.  When  the  foundations  of  Greece 
and  Rome  were  being  laid  and  when  the  great 
Hebrew  prophets  were  in  the  midst  of  their 
ministry,  a  nation  was  being  shaped  and  a 
civilization  formed  which  have  come  down 
through  the  centuries  with  a  comparatively 
unbroken  history.  There  have  been  changes, 
but  none  of  them  as  violent  as  those  which  have 
shaken  the  West  during  the  same  period.  Only 
two  other  cultural  groups  —  that  in  India  and 
that  in  the  Mediterranean  Basin  —  have  had 
as  dominant  an  influence  over  as  large  a  sec- 
tion of  mankind.  For  Chinese  culture  has  not 
only  spread  gradually  over  what  is  now  China 
proper,  with  its  three  or  four  hundred  million 
inhabitants,  but  it  furnished  the  model  for  the 
old  Japan,  and  has  been  to  the  widely  scattered 

xi 


INTRODUCTION 

peoples  of  the  vast  outlying  sections  of  the 
Chinese  Empire  —  Mongolia,  Manchuria,  the 
New  Territory,  and  Tibet  —  what  that  of  the 
Mediterranean  world  was  to  the  Germanic  peo- 
ples of  Northern  Europe.  The  history  and  the 
fate  of  a  culture  of  such  antiquity  and  of  such 
influence,  and  of  the  people  that  could  produce 
it,  must  be  a  matter  of  world  interest. 

The  Chinese  are  numerically  the  largest 
fairly  homogeneous  group  of  mankind.  No  one 
knows  their  exact  number,  but  there  are  prob- 
ably between  two  hundred  and  fifty  and  four 
hundred  millions  of  them.  They  form  between 
a  fifth  and  an  eighth  of  the  population  of  the 
globe.  Their  future  cannot  fail  to  be  of  vital 
significance  to  the  entire  world.  This  is  es- 
pecially true  since  they  are  among  the  ablest  of 
mankind,  as  is  shown  not  only  by  their  civiliza- 
tion, but  by  their  industry,  their  thrift,  their 
commercial  ability,  their  physical  vitality,  and 
the  achievements  of  their  students  in  the  uni- 
versities of  the  West.  Chinese  students  in 
American  universities  have  frequently  carried 
off  high  scholastic  honors  in  open  competition 
with  the  flower  of  our  youth. 

Mighty  changes  are  taking  place  in  China. 
It  is  undergoing  a  transformation  whose  re- 

xii 


INTRODUCTION 

suits  no  man  can  foresee.  Those  who  know  her 
best  are  the  slowest  to  make  dogmatic  proph- 
ecies. It  is  certain,  however,  that  the  outcome 
will  profoundly  affect  the  entire  world.  The 
United  States  faces  China  from  across  the 
Pacific  and  will  be  especially  interested.  If 
Americans  are  not  to  blunder,  if  they  are  to 
make  to  the  new  China  the  unselfish  contri- 
butions of  which  they  are  capable,  if  they  are 
not  to  stumble  into  unnecessary  conflict  with 
Japan,  if  they  are  to  share  to  the  utmost  in  the 
trade  and  the  industrial  development  of  the 
new  China,  they  must  know  her  and  must  know 
her  better  than  they  do  now. 

There  are  already  many  books  on  China  in 
English,  and  a  number  of  excellent  histories. 
The  author  has  felt,  however,  in  his  own  teach- 
ing the  need  of  a  short  sketch  for  college  courses 
which  devote,  as  is  the  case  with  most  courses 
on  the  Far  East  in  American  institutions,  only 
six  weeks  or  so  to  China;  a  sketch  which  in 
the  light  of  the  best  modern  scholarship  will 
give  the  essential  facts  of  Chinese  history,  an 
understanding  of  the  larger  features  of  China's 
development,  and  the  historical  setting  of  its 
present-day  problems;  a  sketch  which  does  not 

burden  the  student  with  unnecessary  details  of 

xiii 


INTRODUCTION 

unfamiliar  names  and  dates  and  which  gives 
him  the  main  movements  that  have  led  to  the 
China  of  to-day.  It  is  hoped  that  such  a  book 
will  be  of  use  as  well  to  the  general  reader  as  an 
introduction  to  larger  and  more  specialized 
works.  The  plan  followed  is :  first,  the  develop- 
ment of  China  to  the  time  when  contact  with 
Europeans  first  began  to  have  a  profound  ef- 
fect on  her,  or  about  1832;  second,  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  civilization  of  China  as  it  was  before 
it  had  undergone  the  changes  which  have  fol- 
lowed that  contact;  third,  the  history  since 
the  contact  with  Europeans;  and  fourth,  the 
changes  and  the  problems  brought  by  that  con- 
tact. At  the  end  there  has  been  added  a  brief 
critical  bibliography  for  the  use  of  students  who 
may  wish  to  go  somewhat  further  into  details 
than  the  text  has  done  and  who  have  neither 
the  desire  nor  the  leisure  for  the  detailed  works 
of  specialists.  A  somewhat  greater  proportion 
of  attention  has  been  paid  to  American  rela- 
tions with  China  than  would  have  been  wise  had 
the  book  not  been  intended  primarily  for  use  in 
the  United  States,  j 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 


CHAPTER  I 

GEOGRAPHIC   BACKGROUND   OP 
CHINESE   HISTORY 

CHINA  as  we  see  it  on  the  map  is  composed 
of  two  parts.  The  smaller  and  the  more  im- 
portant is  China  proper,  or  the  Eighteen  Prov- 
inces. Three  provinces  have  been  added  in  the 
last  few  decades  by  extending  the  provincial 
form  of  government  to  Manchuria.  There  are 
thus  twenty-one  in  all,  but  Manchuria  scarcely 
belongs  geographically  to  China  proper  and  it 
is  better  here  still  to  speak  of  the  eighteen  as  a 
unit.  The  larger  borders  on  China  proper  and 
is  made  up  of  various  districts  that  have  been 
conquered  at  one  time  and  another,  usually  in 
an  endeavor  to  protect  the  Eighteen  Provinces 
against  attack  and  to  extend  China  to  its  nat- 
ural boundaries.  The  Eighteen  Provinces  are 
the  historic  China  and  the  main  home  of  the 
Chinese  people.  The  outlying  districts,  with 
the  exception  of  Manchuria,  have  not  been 

1 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

extensively  settled  by  Chinese  and  are  mostly 
semi-autonomous  states  inhabited  by  alien 
peoples. 

China  proper  is  eminently  fitted  by  nature 
to  be  the  home  of  a  great  civilization.  It  has  a 
soil  of  fabulous  fertility.  For  thousands  of  years 
its  best  sections  have  been  subjected  to  nearly 
continuous  farming,  and,  thanks  partly  to  the 
skill  of  the  cultivators  and  partly  to  its  own 
original  strength,  it  still  shows  no  signs  of  ex- 
haustion. In  the  North  is  the  loess,  very  fertile, 
in  places  hundreds  of  feet  deep,  and  probably 
built  up  by  the  dust  from  the  plains  of  Central 
Asia  carried  south  and  east  by  the  winds  of 
many  millenniums.  In  the  central  and  north- 
eastern districts  is  the  great  alluvial  plain 
formed  of  deposits  laid  down  through  the  ages 
by  the  muddy  waters  of  the  Yangtze  and  the 
Yellow  Rivers.  In  other  sections  there  are 
numerous  smaller  plains  and  valleys;  as,  for 
example,  the  valleys  that  debouch  at  Canton, 
and  the  highly  cultivated  area  around 
Ch'engtu,1  the  capital  of  the  chief  province 
of  West  China. 

Added  to  the  fertility  of  the  soil  is  a  favor- 
able climate.  China  lies  almost  entirely  in  the 

1  For  pronunciation  of  Chinese  names  see  note  on  p.  117. 


GEOGRAPHIC  BACKGROUND 

temperate  zone,  which  with  its  marked  sea- 
sonal changes  seems  to  be  favorable  to  the 
development  of  a  vigorous  race.  The  summers 
are  hot,  and  in  places  the  humidity  makes  them 
enervating,  but  even  in  the  South  the  winters 
bring  a  stimulus  to  greater  activity.  The 
heaviest  rainfall  comes  as  a  rule  in  the  late 
winter,  spring,  and  summer  when  it  is  of  most 
use  to  the  growing  crops. 

Then  China  proper  is  well  supplied  with 
rivers.  It  is,  in  fact,  largely  made  up  of  the 
great  valleys  of  the  streams  that  drain  the 
eastern  slopes  of  the  high  plateau  of  Central 
Asia.  These  streams  not  only  provide  for  ir- 
rigation where  this  is  needed,  but  furnish 
easy  and  inexpensive  means  of  communica- 
tion and  transportation.  Large  ocean  steam- 
ers go  to-day  without  difficulty  to  Hankow, 
six  hundred  miles  up  the  Yangtze  River. 
The  level  stretches  of  the  Great  Plain  —  the 
most  densely  populated  section  of  China  — 
lend  themselves  readily  to  the  construction  of 
canals,  so  that  the  natural  waterways  have  for 
generations  been  connected  by  artificial  ones. 
The  Grand  Canal,  designed  originally  to  carry 
the  tribute  rice  to  the  capital,  reaches  from 

Hangchow  on  the  south  to  Peking  on  the  north, 

3 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

a  distance  of  a  thousand  or  twelve  hundred 
miles.  Even  in  these  days  of  railroad  trans- 
portation the  streams  seem  destined  to  hold 
their  own  as  an  inexpensive  means  of  moving 
bulky,  imperishable  freight.  This  facility  of 
communication  and  the  absence  of  serious 
mountain  barriers  have  made  it  comparatively 
easy  to  unite  the  Eighteen  Provinces  and  hold 
them  together  as  one  political,  racial,  cultural, 
and  economic  whole.  China  proper  seems  des- 
tined by  nature  to  be  the  home  of  a  united 
nation.  It  is  significant  that  it  is  in  the  south- 
ern and  western  sections,  separated  from  the 
North  and  subdivided  within  themselves  by 
more  marked  mountain  barriers  than  exist  in 
the  central  and  northern  provinces,  that  the 
greatest  variations  of  language  and  race  ap- 
pear and  that  political  unrest  most  frequently 
originates.  The  greatest  differences  in  dialect 
are  to  be  found  in  South  and  Southeast  China 
and  it  is  in  these  regions  that  rebellion  against 
the  centralized  authority  of  the  North  has 
usually  begun. 

China  is  richly  supplied  with  minerals.  The 
precious  metals  are  not  plentiful,  but  the  min- 
erals used  in  industry  are  unusually  abundant. 

Every  one  of  the  Eighteen  Provinces  has  work- 

4 


GEOGRAPHIC  BACKGROUND 

able  deposits  of  coal,  and  in  one  province 
alone  a  German  geologist  has  estimated  that 
there  is  enough  to  last  the  entire  world  at  the 
present  rate  of  consumption  for  many  cen- 
turies. There  are  extensive  deposits  of  iron. 
Great  fields  of  petroleum  are  known  to  exist. 
Antimony,  tin,  and  copper  are  found  in  quan- 
tities. When  one  remembers  that  coal  and 
iron  are  an  indispensable  basis  of  our  modern 
industrial  development,  one  sees  how  well 
China  is  fitted  to  take  her  place  among  the 
great  manufacturing  lands  of  the  globe,  es- 
pecially since  these  gifts  of  nature  are  supple- 
mented by  an  industrious,  numerous,  and  in- 
telligent population,  and  an  enormous  supply 
of  food  products  and  raw  materials. 

With  this  natural  endowment  it  is  not 
strange  that  the  land  has  become  the  home  of 
an  able  people,  or  that  this  people  has  achieved 
unity,  and  has  given  itself  largely  to  the  ma- 
terial side  of  life.  The  Chinese  are  primarily 
men  of  affairs,  administrators,  merchants, 
farmers.  Their  scholarship  and  religion  have  a 
preeminently  practical  turn.  For  this  their 
natural  surroundings  seem  in  part  responsible. 

The  boundaries  of  China  have  had  a  great 

influence  on  her  history  and  on  the  character 

5 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

of  her  people  and  civilization.  On  the  east  is 
the  Pacific  Ocean  which  in  the  old  days  dis- 
couraged rather  than  encouraged  commerce. 
No  great  peoples  on  its  shores  invited  to  inter- 
course. Even  Japan  had  little  to  give  in  ex- 
change in  trade.  In  the  South,  which  was 
nearest  India  and  the  West,  and  where  frequent 
harbors  are  to  be  found,  there  did  indeed  grow 
up  some  commerce.  But  until  very  recently 
the  South  has  not  been  predominant  in  mould- 
ing Chinese  life.  To-day,  the  Pacific  invites  to 
commerce,  and  the  Chinese  in  the  future  may 
not  be  as  exclusively  a  landsman  as  he  has  been 
in  the  past.  To-day  the  sea  is  a  highway  over 
which  come  commerce,  invaders,  and  new  ideas 
and  influences.  The  steamship  and  the  cable 
have  made  of  it  the  path  by  which  the  new  era 
has  come  to  China.  But  until  the  last  century 
the  sea  was  a  barrier  across  which  but  little 
trade  made  its  way.  It  shielded  China  from 
outside  influences  and  the  Chinese  showed 
little  disposition  to  cross  it. 

China's  land  boundaries  reinforced  her  iso- 
lation. On  the  west,  northwest,  and  southwest 
are  great  mountain  chains,  some  of  them 
among  the  highest  in  the  world.  They  are  but- 
tressed by  vast  elevated  semi-arid  plateaus. 

6 


GEOGRAPHIC  BACKGROUND 

In  the  old  days  these  formed  barriers  which 
shut  her  off  from  the  rest  of  the  civilized 
world,  and  were  the  homes  of  those  nomadic 
peoples  whose  pressure  into  the  fertile  valleys 
to  the  east  and  south  has  been  so  large  a 
factor  in  her  history. 

The  isolation  was  nearly  complete.  On  the 
southeast  and  the  northeast,  to  be  sure,  the 
barriers  are  not  so  effective,  but  until  the  last 
hundred  years  there  were  not  in  either  of  these 
directions  peoples  from  whose  culture  China 
could  learn  much.  A  long  caravan  route  led 
from  the  most  northwesterly  province,  Kansu, 
across  the  plateaus  and  the  mountains  to  the 
modern  Turkestan,  Persia,  and  the  Near  East. 
By  this  route  commerce  was  carried  on  with 
Central  and  Western  Asia  and  the  Mediter- 
ranean world.  By  this  route  Buddhism  first 
came  to  China,  and  the  early  travelers  from 
Western  Europe,  the  Venetian  merchant 
Marco  Polo  and  the  Franciscan  missionaries  of 
the  thirteenth  and  fourteenth  centuries,  found 
their  way  to  distant  Cathay.  Some  Greek  in- 
fluences, Nestorian  Christianity,  and  other 
cultural  contributions  from  the  West  came  to 
China  by  this  path.  Relatively  speaking,  how- 
ever, the  intercourse  was  scanty  and  intermit- 

7 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

tent.  Man  and  nature  conspired  to  hinder  the 
merchant  and  the  traveler.  The  warlike  no- 
mads of  the  Central  Asiatic  plateau  made  the 
journey  perilous  or  impossible.  At  intervals 
strong  rulers  in  China  reduced  the  tribesmen 
to  submission,  and  trade  revived.  The  mighty 
generals  of  the  Han  and  the  T'ang  dynasties 
maintained  a  fair  semblance  of  order  along 
the  road.  So  did  the  Mongol  and  still  later  the 
Manchu  emperors,  but  for  the  most  part  the 
fierce  tribesmen  and  the  petty  states  of  the  dis- 
trict made  commerce  dangerous  or  impossi- 
ble. Then,  too,  the  route  was  a  long  one.  From 
the  western  gate  in  the  Great  Wall  that  sepa- 
rated China  proper  from  the  lands  of  the  no- 
mads it  is  between  twelve  and  fifteen  hundred 
miles  to  Kashgar  and  the  eastern  end  of  the 
pass  that  leads  across  the  continental  divide 
into  what  is  now  Asiatic  Russia,  the  outposts 
of  the  Occident.  These  hundreds  of  miles  are 
across  deserts  broken  by  infrequent  oases. 
Even  in  earlier  days  when  the  rainfall  through 
that  arid  region  seems  to  have  been  greater 
than  now,  and  when  the  oases  were  larger  and 
more  frequent,  the  journey  was  an  arduous 
one. 

This  isolation  by  land,  added  to  the  scanty 
8 


GEOGRAPHIC  BACKGROUND 

access  by  sea,  meant  a  number  of  things  for 
China.  In  the  first  place,  her  older  civilization 
received  relatively  few  contributions  from  the 
outside.  Some  early  influences  may  have  come 
in  from  the  ancient  culture  of  the  Euphrates- 
Tigris  Valley.  A  few  traces  are  found  of  Greek 
influence  from  the  outlying  fragments  of  Alex- 
ander's broken  empire.  Buddhism  entered,  and 
with  it  contributions  of  religion,  art,  philoso- 
phy, and'  language  from  India  and  Central  and 
Southern  Asia.  The  Arabs  brought  to  Canton 
and  other  southern  ports  some  knowledge  and 
some  products  from  the  West.  These  con- 
tributions, however,  with  the  exception  of 
Buddhism  and  possibly  some  others  in  pre- 
historic times,  had,  as  far  as  we  now  know, 
comparatively  little  influence  on  the  forma- 
tion of  Chinese  culture.  There  was  lacking  that 
intimate  contact  between  different  cultural 
groups  that  has  been  so  large  a  factor  in  the 
growth  of  the  Mediterranean  world  and  West- 
ern Europe.  Our  Western  civilization  is  of 
composite  origin.  To  it  Babylonians,  Egyp- 
tians, Cretans,  Phoenicians,  Persians,  Hebrews, 
Greeks,  Romans,  and  Northern  Europeans 
have  all  contributed.  From  Babylonia  we  get 

part  of  our  moral  code;  from  Egypt  comes  our 

9 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

calendar ;  from  Crete  came  much  that  shaped  the 
Greek  world;  from  the  Phoenicians  we  get  our 
alphabet;  from  the  Persians  came  a  stimulus  to 
a  simpler  faith  and  the  vision  of  a  well-organized 
world-empire.  The  Hebrews  have  given  us  our 
religion;  the  Greeks  the  basis  of  our  philoso- 
phy, our  art,  and  our  science;  the  Romans  the 
foundations  of  much  of  our  law  and  govern- 
ment; and  the  peoples  of  Northern  Europe 
have  given  us  our  blood,  our  love  of  freedom, 
and  our  representative  institutions.  The  stim- 
ulus that  comes  from  the  constant  touch  of  one 
people  and  one  cultural  group  with  another, 
made  possible  by  geographic  conditions,  ac- 
counts in  no  small  degree  for  the  progress  of 
the  West.  Even  the  civilization  of  India  owes 
more  to  outside  influence  than  we  have  some- 
times thought.  In  China  this  stimulus  has, 
until  the  present  age,  been  almost  entirely 
lacking.  Its  absence  has  meant  that  progress 
has  been  at  a  slower  rate  than  in  the  West.  It 
partly  explains  that  retardation  that  has  seemed 
to  so  many  Westerners  stagnation  and  even 
decline.  The  wonder  is  not  that  progress  in 
civilization  was  slow,  but  that  civilization  con- 
tinued to  exist.  Chinese  culture,  produced  al- 
most unaided  by  one  race,  is  a  monumental 

10 


GEOGRAPHIC  BACKGROUND 

tribute  to  the  ability  of  that  race,  and  a  sound 
basis  for  optimism  for  the  future. 

This  lack  of  intimate  contact  with  other  cul- 
tural groups  bred  in  the  Chinese  a  feeling  of 
intense  pride  and  disdain.  They  had  known  no 
other  people  with  a  civilization  equal  to  their 
own.  Outside  races,  as  far  as  they  were  aware, 
had  derived  from  the  Middle  Kingdom  what 
culture  they  possessed.  Japan  and  Korea,  for 
example,  had  copied  the  arts,  the  literature,  the 
religion,  and  the  government  of  their  larger 
neighbor.  What  wonder  that  the  Chinese,  es- 
pecially the  educated  Chinese,  should  have  a 
profound  contempt  for  foreigners !  To  him  they 
were  barbarians.  They  were  tributary  to  his 
emperor.  If  at  times  they  overran  the  Middle 
Kingdom,  they  did  so  only  to  be  assimilated 
and  to  lose  in  time  their  racial  and  cultural 
identity.  It  was  but  natural  that  at  first  Eu- 
ropeans should  be  regarded  as  another  group  of 
barbarians  who  had  nothing  to  teach  the  Celes- 
tial Empire,  and  who,  even  if  they  triumphed 
by  force  of  arms,  would  in  time  return  home 
or  be  absorbed  or  become  tributary  to  the 
Son  of  Heaven.  It  was  but  natural  that  for 
decades,  even  after  their  first  disastrous  de- 
feats at  the  hands  of  Europeans,  the  Chinese 

11 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

should  refuse  to  adopt  Western  methods  or 
make  use  of  Western  inventions  and  learning. 
It  was  but  natural  that  they  should  be  outdis- 
tanced by  Japan.  Japan,  in  addition  to  being 
smaller  and  more  highly  centralized,  had  been 
accustomed  through  the  centuries  to  adopt 
and  adapt  to  her  needs  the  alien  culture  of 
China  and  found  no  especial  difficulty  in  treat- 
ing similarly  the  civilization  of  Europe.  China 
had  no  such  precedent.  All  her  precedents 
were,  in  fact,  to  the  contrary.  As  a  result  she 
was  slow  to  awake  and  begin  adjusting  herself 
to  the  new  era. 

The  great  land  barriers  that  shut  in  China 
from  the  rest  of  the  civilized  world  have  as 
well  been  the  homes  of  those  nomadic  or  semi- 
nomadic  peoples  who  are  such  a  constant  factor 
in  her  history.  Central  Asia  has  been  the  source 
of  those  waves  of  invasion  that  from  time  to 
time  have  swept  down  into  Western  Asia  and 
Europe.  Huns,  Turks,  and  Mongols,  to  men- 
tion only  a  few,  have  in  turn  burst  out  of  the 
East  and  carried  devastation  to  the  West.  But 
these  peoples  had  their  homes  nearer  China 
than  Europe  and  pressed  far  more  insistently 
on  the  occupants  of  the  fertile  valleys  and 
plains  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  It  is  but  a  part 

12 


GEOGRAPHIC  BACKGROUND 

of  that  struggle  that  has  been  so  frequent  a 
factor  in  human  history,  the  effort  of  the  people 
of  the  hills  and  the  deserts  to  obtain  possession 
of  fertile,  well-watered  valleys,  and  the  more 
sunny  lands  of  the  South.  Egypt,  the  Tigris- 
Euphrates  Valley,  the  Mediterranean  world  of 
Imperial  Rome,  each  had  much  the  same  ex- 
perience. Yueh  Chi,  Hiung  Nu  (probably 
identical  with  the  Huns),  Tatars,  Mongols, 
Manchus,  and  many  others  have  each  in  turn 
pressed  southward  and  ruled  for  a  time  part  or 
all  of  China.  Each  in  turn  was  partially  or 
entirely  assimilated  by  the  conquered,  and 
over  each  in  turn  the  Chinese  reasserted  their 
independence.  So  constant  and  so  powerful  a 
factor  has  left  its  indelible  impress  on  Chinese 
history  and  on  the  Chinese  of  to-day.  Fre- 
quent infusions  of  the  blood  of  the  peoples  of 
the  uplands  have  gradually  modified  the  orig- 
inal stock.  In  the  North  where  the  mixture  has 
been  more  marked  the  people  differ  materially 
in  appearance  and  language  from  their  kinsmen 
in  the  South.  The  Great  Wall,  extending  for 
hundreds  of  miles  along  the  northern  marches, 
is  an  impressive  monument  to  the  defense 
measures  of  the  Chinese  government.  Mon- 
golia, Sinkiang,  and  Tibet,  most  of  the  vast 

13 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

districts  of  the  empire  that  fringe  the  Eighteen 
Provinces,  were  conquered  by  vigorous  mon- 
archs  largely  in  the  effort  to  prevent  future 
invasions  by  reducing  the  barbarians  to  sub- 
mission in  their  own  homes.  The  Han,  the 
T'ang,  the  Yuan,  and  the  Ta  Ch'ing  dynasties 
each  carried  the  war  into  the  enemies'  territory 
and  secured  peace  by  adding  their  lands  to  the 
imperial  domain. 

Such  is  the  geographical  setting  of  Chinese 
history.  It  is  now  our  duty  to  enter  upon  the 
narrative  of  that  history  itself. 


CHAPTER  II 

ORIGIN  AND    FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

THE  origin  of  the  Chinese  people  and  of 
their  culture  is  shrouded  in  obscurity.  Chi- 
nese annals  know  of  none  other  than  an  in- 
digenous source.  Foreign  scholars  have  spent 
much  time  on  the  problem,  but  have  as  yet 
failed  to  trace  any  definite,  undisputed  line 
of  descent  to  immigrants.  One  interesting 
theory,  supported  by  some  brilliant  students, 
attempts  to  assign  the  earliest  Chinese  culture 
to  the  Sumerians,  the  founders  of  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  Tigris-Euphrates  Valley.  Accord- 
ing to  this  theory  the  first  Chinese  came  over- 
land from  this  ancient  seat  of  civilization,  and 
brought  with  them  the  foundations  of  the  cul- 
ture of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  Many  curious 
parallels  have  been  drawn  between  Chinese 
civilization  and  that  of  the  Sumerians,  parallels 
that  are  too  numerous  and  too  striking  to  be 
lightly  dismissed.  We  must  wait  for  further 
discoveries  in  China  and  Central  Asia  before 
we  dare  give  a  final  opinion.  We  do  know, 
however,  that  Chinese  culture  first  definitely 

15 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

appears  in  what  is  now  North  Central  China. 
It  is  significant  that  this  is  where  the  trade 
routes  across  Central  Asia  from  the  West  enter 
China,  and  that  Chinese  civilization  is  not 
as  old  as  that  of  the  ancient  centers  of  the 
Western  world.  One  cannot  help  but  suspect 
something  more  than  a  coincidence. 

In  the  beginnings  of  Chinese  history  it  is 
difficult,  as  in  that  of  all  peoples,  to  separate 
the  mythical  from  the  true.  Native  historians 
profess  to  take  us  back  to  three  thousand  years 
or  more  before  Christ  and  to  give  us  a  long  list 
of  the  monarchs  who  reigned  from  then  to 
the  better-known,  historical  periods.  Some  of 
these  characters  like  Romulus  and  Remus  were 
more  real  to  later  generations  than  many  whose 
existence  is  better  authenticated.  Every  Chi- 
nese schoolboy  is  familiar  with  the  names 
of  Yao,  Shun,  and  Yii,  the  last  of  whom  is  said 
to  have  drained  the  land  of  a  great  flood  and  to 
have  founded  the  first  dynasty.1  This  dynasty 
and  a  second  2  passed,  however,  before  we 
come  to  a  point  where  we  feel  ourselves 
on  fairly  solid  ground.  Each  of  these  two 
dynasties  is  reported  to  have  fallen  as  the  re- 
sult of  the  wickedness  of  a  final  representative 

1  Hsia.  2  Shang. 

16 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

who  gave  himself  to  debauchery  and  misgov- 
ernment.  A  few  bronze  utensils  have  come 
down  to  us  from  these  ages,  and  attempts  have 
been  made  to  reconstruct  critically  an  accurate 
picture  of  the  culture  they  represented,  but 
very  few  facts  are  as  yet  certain.  We  do  know 
that  during  these  centuries  the  Chinese  people 
were  gradually  spreading  from  their  home  in 
North  Central  China,  driving  out  or  absorbing 
the  earlier  non-Chinese  inhabitants  of  the  land, 
and  slowly  developing  in  culture. 

When  we  come  to  the  third  dynasty,  that  of 
the  name  of  Chou,  we  find  ourselves  on  firmer 
ground.  The  date  usually  given  for  its  begin- 
ning is  1122  B.C.  It  was  founded  by  a  group  of 
vigorous  men.  The  prince  of  the  feudatory 
state  of  Chou,  Wen  Wang,  protested  against 
the  misrule  of  the  decaying  dynasty.  He  was 
imprisoned  for  his  pains  and  was  released  only 
on  payment  of  a  heavy  ransom.  After  his  death 
his  son  Wu  Wang  raised  the  standard  of  revolt 
to  avenge  his  father  and  to  end  tyranny.  He 
became  the  first  emperor  of  the  new  dynasty. 
The  brother  of  Wu  Wang,  known  to  posterity 
as  the  Duke  of  Chou,  consolidated  the  power 
of  the  new  royal  house  while  acting  as  regent 
for  the  second  emperor.  The  names  of  these 

17 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

three  men,  Wen  Wang,  Wu  Wang,  and  Chou 
Kung,1  have  come  down  to  posterity  as  house- 
hold names,  lauded  by  the  Classics  and  by 
orthodox  scholars  of  all  the  centuries.  So  well 
had  the  founders  done  their  work  that  the 
family  held  the  throne  until  256  B.C.  This 
nearly  nine  centuries  of  rule  is,  with  but  one 
exception,  —  that  of  the  ruling  house  of 
Japan,  —  longer  than  any  other  known  to 
history. 

By  the  time  the  Chou  dynasty  began, 
Chinese  civilization  had  already  begun  to  take 
on  very  definite  characteristics.  The  govern- 
ment was  patriarchal  and  was  under  the  em- 
peror, the  Son  of  Heaven,  in  whose  hands  was 
centered  the  power  of  the  state.  The  state  was 
divided,  however,  into  hereditary  principali- 
ties, over  which  succeeding  emperors  exerted 
less  and  less  authority.  The  people  were  al- 
ready living  a  settled  agricultural  life.  Irriga- 
tion was  in  use,  intensive  farming  was  prac- 
ticed, and  a  carefully  ordered  system  of  land 
tenure  had  been  worked  out.  Religion  con- 
sisted partly  in  animism, — the  worship  of  spir- 
its in  natural  objects,  in  the  earth,  the  air,  the 

1  "Wu"  means  "military"  and  "Wang,"  "king."  "Wen" 
means  "literature"  or  "civilization."  "Kung"  means  "duke." 

18 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

water,  —  partly  in  the  veneration  of  ancestors, 
and  partly  in  a  belief  in  a  Supreme  Being. 
There  was  a  system  of  divination,  part  of 
which  consisted  in  heating  bones  and  tortoise 
shells  and  in  the  interpretation  of  the  future 
and  the  will  of  Heaven  by  the  cracks  left  on  the 
surface  in  the  process  of  cooling.  There  were 
the  beginnings  of  writing,  the  first  of  those 
characters  that  have  been  developed  into  the 
written  Chinese  language  of  to-day.  There  was 
a  vigorous  rude  art  that  has  come  down  to  us 
in  the  form  of  sacrificial  vessels,  decorated  with 
the  figures  of  mythical  monsters,  among  them 
the  predecessors  of  the  familiar  dragon  and 
phcenix  of  Chinese  art  of  to-day.  The  family 
was  the  strongest  social  unit,  as  indeed  it  has 
been  through  all  the  changes  of  the  succeeding 
centuries. 

During  the  nearly  nine  centuries  of  the 
Chou  dynasty,  Chinese  culture  continued  to 
develop  and  took  on  more  and  more  the  forms 
of  thought  and  social  organization  that  are 
the  foundations  of  the  China  of  to-day.  The 
race  gradually  expanded  into  new  territories. 
In  the  process  of  expansion,  however,  and  as 
weaker  rulers  succeeded  the  vigorous  founders 

of  the  dynasty,  the  authority  of  the  emperor 

19 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

declined  until  it  became  a  mere  shadow.  The 
government  was  increasingly  decentralized, 
and  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  territorial 
princes.  China  was,  in  fact,  gradually  resolved 
into  a  group  of  many  states,  virtually  inde- 
pendent of  each  other,  owing  only  a  nominal 
allegiance  to  the  emperor,  and  organized  on  a 
basis  corresponding  somewhat  to  the  feudal 
system  of  Europe.  The  constitution  of  the 
China  of  the  Chou  dynasty  has  been  compared, 
not  inaptly,  to  that  of  the  Germany  of  the 
early  eighteenth  century.  But  for  later  devel- 
opments China  might  have  separated  perma- 
nently into  a  number  of  independent  nations 
of  closely  related  language  and  culture,  and 
so  have  come  to  resemble  ancient  Greece  or 
modern  Europe.  There  were  the  beginnings 
of  formal  international  law  and  even  of  di- 
versity of  culture.  Wars  were  frequent,  both 
between  the  states  and  with  the  neighboring 
non-Chinese  peoples.  Some  of  the  latter  were 
beginning  to  adopt  Chinese  manners  and  to  be 
gradually  incorporated  into  the  Chinese  race. 
The  dynasty  is  especially  noteworthy,  how- 
ever, for  its  literature  and  for  vigorous  thinkers 
and  seers  whose  influence  has  moulded  all  suc- 
ceeding generations.  The  Chinese  written  lan- 

20 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

guage  took  on  a  form  that  with  some  modifica- 
tions has  persisted  until  to-day.  The  literary 
language  of  the  period  differs  no  more  and  pos- 
sibly less  from  the  literary  language  of  to-daj 
than  does  the  English  of  Chaucer  from  the  Eng- 
lish of  the  twentieth  century.  The  founders 
of  the  dynasty  had  begun  the  organization 
of  schools  and  had  encouraged  scholarship  by 
choosing  officials  through  competitive  exam- 
inations. Partly  as  a  result  of  these  schools  and 
partly  as  the  result  of  the  principle  that  the 
prince  must  govern  by  the  aid  of  the  most  in- 
telligent and  best-educated  men  of  his  domains, 
there  grew  up  a  class  of  men  who  were  at  once 
statesmen,  scholars,  and  philosophers.  Most 
of  these  had  given  themselves  to  public  life  as 
administrators  or  as  advisers  of  princes,  and 
looked  at  ethics,  philosophy,  literature,  and  all 
formal  learning  from  the  standpoint  of  men 
who  are  interested  first  of  all  in  the  welfare  of 
society.  The  names  of  numbers  of  philosophers 
have  come  down  to  us.  Three  of  these,  Lao 
Tzu,  Confucius,  and  Mencius,  are  in  their  in- 
fluence on  posterity  so  much  more  important 
than  the  others,  that  we  must  pause  to  de- 
scribe them. 

Of  Lao  Tzu  but  little  is  known.    Some 
21 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

scholars  have  even  questioned  his  existence. 
We  do  not  know  exactly  when  he  lived,  al- 
though one  insistent  tradition  puts  him  in  the 
sixth  century  B.C.  as  an  older  contemporary  of 
Confucius.  We  are  not  at  all  sure  that  the 
book  ascribed  to  him1  was  written  by  him  or 
that  it  contains  any  of  his  exact  words.  His 
teaching  was  apparently  rather  obscure,  and 
consisted  partly  in  an  insistence  that  true  peace 
was  to  be  attained  only  by  ceasing  to  strive 
and  by  ordering  one's  life  by  the  fundamental 
principles  embodied  in  the  older  Chinese  term 
"Tao,"  meaning  "way"  or  "road."  For  the 
material  trappings  of  civilization  he  had  but 
little  use.  Civilization  to  his  mind  had  largely 
failed,  and  he  saw  the  cure  apparently  in  mys- 
ticism and  a  return  to  a  simpler,  less  formally 
cultured  life.  The  faith  that  grew  up  from  his 
teachings  is  called  "Taoism."  We  shall  later 
see  how  this  faith,  always  too  mysterious  and 
too  difficult  of  understanding  to  be  followed  by 
the  masses,  underwent  a  complete  transforma- 
tion and  to-day  preserves  but  little  if  any  of 
the  spirit  of  its  founder. 

Of  Confucius  (551-479  B.C.)  we  know  a  great 
deal  more.   He  was  born  in  a  feudal  state,2  in 
1  The  Tao  Teh  Ching.  2  Lu. 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

what  is  now  the  Province  of  Shantung.  Part 
of  his  life  was  spent  in  administrative  offices 
and  his  outlook  was  always  that  of  an  official. 
His  ethics,  his  religion,  his  entire  thought  had 
running  through  them  the  desire  to  direct  all 
learning,  all  art,  and  all  religious  ceremonies 
to  the  service  of  society.  His  most  important 
office  was  that  of  prime  minister  in  his  native 
state,  and  in  a  truly  characteristic  manner  that 
ministry  was  ended  by  his  resignation  when 
his  prince  began  to  give  himself  to  sensual 
indulgence  and  to  neglect  the  affairs  of  state. 
He  gathered  around  him  a  group  of  pupils, 
whom  he  carefully  instructed,  always  with  the 
aim  of  producing  men  of  cultured  character 
for  the  service  of  the  state.  From  the  plentiful 
sayings  that  have  come  down  from  him,  col- 
lected by  his  faithful  disciples,  we  see  a  man 
of  keen  moral  insight  and  high  purpose,  per- 
sistent, well  poised,  reserved,  with  a  belief  in  a 
ruling  Providence,  but  speaking  of  it  so  little 
that  he  has  been  regarded  by  many  as  an  ag- 
nostic, and  preserving  a  discreet  reticence  on 
the  subject  of  the  popular  superstitions  and 
worship  of  the  times.  He  deplored  the  current 
disorders  and  sought  the  cure  for  them  in  a 
return  to  the  principles  of  the  great  philoso- 

23 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

pher-monarchs  of  antiquity.  He  claimed  for 
himself  no  originality,  but  desired  merely  to 
transmit  and  interpret  the  best  of  the  past. 
Perhaps  this  voluntary  identification  with  the 
best  of  the  scholarly  traditions  of  the  nation 
accounts  in  part  for  his  influence  on  China. 
He  is  the  embodiment  and  the  model  of  that 
class  of  statesmen-scholars  that  has  moulded 
China. 

A  name  associated  closely  with  that  of  Con- 
fucius is  Mencius.  He  was  born  in  372  B.C.,  not 
far  from  the  birthplace  of  Confucius.  He  was 
an  ardent  admirer  of  his  great  predecessor,  but 
did  not  give  himself  to  slavish  imitation.  An 
original  thinker,  he  was  a  profound  believer  in 
the  native  goodness  of  human  nature,  and  bat- 
tled manfully  with  rival  philosophers  who  be- 
lieved in  original  sin,  either  in  the  form  of  total 
depravity  or  as  an  admixture  with  original 
goodness.  Possibly  as  a  corollary  to  this  con- 
viction he  believed  much  more  in  the  ordinary 
man  than  did  Confucius  and  distinctly  held 
that  the  subject  had  the  right  to  rebel  against 
a  tyrannous  prince.  For  that  reason  he  was 
more  highly  in  favor  with  the  revolutionists  of 
1912  than  was  his  more  conservative  master. 

The  chief  literature  of  the  Chou  dynasty  has 

24 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

come  down  to  us  in  what  are  usually  known  as 
the  "  Classics."  These  are  the  Four  Books  and 
the  Five  Canons.  The  Four  Books  are  the  "Ana- 
lects," *  the  sayings  of  Confucius  and  his  dis- 
ciples, the  "Doctrine  of  the  Mean"2  and  the 
"Great  Learning,"  3  two  short  treatises  on 
ethical  culture  compiled  by  successors  of  Con- 
fucius, and  the  "Book  of  Mencius,"  4  com- 
prising the  teachings  of  that  philosopher.  The 
Five  Canons  are  the  "  Canon  of  Changes  " ; 6  the 
"Canon  of  History,"  6  a  compilation  by  Con- 
fucius of  the  historical  records  of  the  past  as  he 
found  them;  the  "Canon  of  Odes,"  7  also  com- 
piled by  Confucius,  a  collection  of  the  odes  and 
ballads  current  among  the  people  of  the  time; 
the  "Canon  of  Rites,"  8  a  collection  of  rules 
describing  the  ceremonial  code  of  the  private 
man;  and  the  "Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,"9 
or  the  annals  of  Confucius's  native  state,  com- 
piled by  the  great  teacher  himself,  a  rather  dry 
chronicle  much  expanded  by  later  commenta- 
tors. These  Classics  have  become  the  standard 
literature  of  the  nation.  Although  they  are  per- 
haps scarcely  looked  upon  by  the  Chinese  as 

1  Lun  Ytt.  2  Chung  Yung.       8  Ta  Hsioh. 

4  Meng  Tzu  Shu.          6  I  Ching.  •  Shu  Ching. 

7  Shih  Ching.  8  Li  Chi.  9  Ch'un  Ch'iu. 

25 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

records  divinely  inspired,  they  form  the  closest 
parallel  to  the  sacred  books  of  other  peoples. 

The  Chou  dynasty  is  notable  not  only  as  a 
period  of  vigorous  thinking,  but  as  one  of  active 
internal  commerce.  The  various  states  strove 
to  strengthen  themselves  by  encouraging  trade. 
Foreign  commerce  may  even  have  grown  up 
across  the  caravan  routes  of  Central  Asia,  and 
Chinese  products  may  have  found  their  way 
to  the  West  and  Western  ideas  and  objects  to 
China. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  dynasty  changes 
began  to  take  place  which  were  to  lead  to  the 
consolidation  of  China  and  the  formation  of 
the  Chinese  imperial  government  much  as  we 
know  it  to-day.  The  closing  centuries  of  the 
dynasty  are  known  technically  as  the  period  of 
the  "Contending  States."  The  different  prin- 
cipalities that  made  up  the  empire  fell  to  war- 
ring with  one  another  on  a  gigantic  scale  with 
fearful  results  in  carnage  and  in  destruction  of 
property.  The  imperial  dignity  was  reduced  to 
a  shadow.  Gradually  by  sheer  strength  and 
skill  out  of  the  struggle  emerged  as  a  leader  the 
state  of  Ch'in.  After  years  of  warfare  it  suc- 
ceeded in  conquering  the  other  states,  in  put- 
ting an  end  to  the  remnants  of  the  power  of  the 

£6 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

Chou  dynasty,  and  in  giving  its  name  to  a  new 
dynasty  which  ruled  from  255  to  206  B.C.  This 
state  of  Ch'in  was  situated  in  Northwest 
China,  and  had  developed  its  military  strength 
in  guarding  the  frontiers  against  the  nomads  of 
the  desert.  It  is  quite  probable  that  it  embod- 
ied strong  strains  of  nomad  blood.  It  had  cer- 
tainly evolved  a  superior  military  and  political 
organization  and  by  force  of  merit  had  suc- 
ceeded in  making  its  ruler  the  master  of  the 
empire.  The  princes  of  Ch'in,  after  subduing 
the  other  states,  finally  assumed  the  imperial 
throne  made  vacant  by  deposing  the  last  of  the 
Chou  monarchs.  The  first  of  the  new  line  to 
take  the  title  of  emperor  is  one  of  the  greatest 
rulers  of  history.  He  was  not  only  a  vigorous 
warrior,  but  an  able  administrator.  He  felt  it 
to  be  necessary  to  found  the  Chinese  state 
entirely  anew.  To  this  end  he  wished  to  abol- 
ish the  last  traces  of  feudalism  and  to  make  of 
the  empire  a  highly  centralized  monarchy.  He 
called  himself  the  "  First  Emperor,"  1  as  he  ap- 
parently wished  to  divorce  the  new  imperial  title 
and  functions  from  the  traditions  of  the  help- 
lessness of  the  later  rulers  of  the  house  of 
Chou.  He  even  went  to  the  extreme  of  at- 

1  Shih  Hwang,  or  Ch'in  Shih  Hwang,  as  he  is  better  known. 
27 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

tempting  to  destroy  most  of  the  existing  liter- 
ature of  the  preceding  ages.  Apparently  the 
old  order  was  to  his  mind  so  hopeless  that  it 
was  better  to  eradicate  all  records  of  it  and  to 
start  afresh.  Copies  of  the  existing  books  were 
not  so  numerous  but  that  it  was  possible  to 
collect  most  of  them  for  burning.  He  vigor- 
ously defended  the  northern  frontiers  against 
the  invasions  of  the  nomadic  peoples  and  com- 
pleted the  Great  Wall,  that  artificial  barrier 
which  stretches  for  so  many  hundred  miles 
along  the  northern  boundaries  of  the  Eighteen 
Provinces,  the  mightiest  piece  of  construction 
done  by  hands  of  men  until  the  nineteenth 
century.  Beside  it  the  seven  wonders  of  antiq- 
uity dwindle  into  comparative  insignificance. 
It  is  a  happy  coincidence  that  from  the  word 
"Ch'in"  our  word  "China"  is  probably  de- 
rived, for  to  this  vigorous  monarch  of  that 
state  and  dynasty  must  be  given  the  credit  for 
the  first  union  of  China  in  a  form  resembling 
that  in  which  we  now  know  it.  At  least  one 
connection  with  the  past  he  did  not  break. 
Taoism  as  it  came  from  the  hands  of  its 
founder  was  not  a  cult  for  the  mass  of  the 
common  people.  It  was  too  abstruse  and  too 
mystical.  It  early  began  to  decline  from  its 

28 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

pristine  purity  and  fell  largely  into  the  hands 
of  demon  exorcists  and  of  searchers  for  physi- 
cal immortality.  These  strove  to  find  the  elixir 
of  life  and  to  drive  out  the  demons  that  to  the 
mass  of  the  Chinese  then  as  now  are  omnipres- 
ent and  the  cause  of  disease  and  death.  To  this 
degenerate  doctrine  of  Taoism,  a  doctrine  that 
with  modifications  has  come  down  to  the  pres- 
ent, the  First  Emperor  gave  willing  and  fearful 
heed.  Its  survival  may  be  partly  due  to  his 
patronage.  Nor  was  this  vigorous  ruler  op- 
posed to  learning  as  such.  His  opposition  was 
only  to  the  reactionary  form  that  he  felt  it  had 
taken  during  the  past  few  centuries.  Under 
him  writing  was  further  developed,  and  the 
invention  of  the  writing  brush  and  the  fore- 
runner of  paper  are  ascribed  to  his  reign.  Other 
phases  of  the  national  life  aroused  his  interest. 
He  encouraged  commerce.  He  was  a  great 
builder.  He  was  a  vigorous  administrator  of 
justice.  Because  he  antagonized  the  so-called 
"  Conf ucianists,"  he  has  not  been  popular  with 
orthodox  Chinese  historians,  but  he  was  one  of 
the  greatest  creative  minds  and  one  of  the 
most  vigorous  rulers  that  the  nation  has  pro- 
duced. His  achievement  in  uniting  China  is  in 

some  respects  greater  than  would  have  been 

29 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

that  of  Charlemagne  had  he  succeeded  in  weld- 
ing together  Western  Europe  so  permanently 
that  the  subsequent  disunion  into  warring 
nations  would  have  been  impossible. 

The  effort  of  uniting  the  empire  seems  to 
have  exhausted  the  house  of  Ch'in.  The  feeble 
successors  of  the  First  Emperor  could  not  hold 
together  the  dominions  of  their  illustrious  pro- 
genitor. When  once  the  heavy  hand  of  the 
strong  man  had  been  withdrawn,  the  latent 
dissatisfaction  with  the  new  order  of  things 
broke  out.  The  old  feudal  princes  strove  to 
regain  their  power  and  to  restore  the  system  by 
which  they  had  profited  during  the  last  days  of 
the  Chou.  The  scholars  of  the  old  school  that 
had  been  ruthlessly  opposed  by  the  Ch'in  were 
still  numerous  and  influential.  Civil  strife 
broke  out;  the  Ch'in  dynasty  disappeared,  and 
for  a  number  of  years  war  was  the  order  of  the 
day.  So  thoroughly  had  the  First  Emperor's 
work  been  done,  however,  that  the  anarchy  of 
the  later  years  of  the  Chou  could  not  perma- 
nently return.  Out  of  the  struggle  emerged 
the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty,  the  Han.  This 
dynasty  lasted,  with  a  marked  division  caused 
by  a  usurpation  early  in  the  first  century  A.D., 
from  206  B.C.  to  214  A.D.,  and  its  four  centuries 

30 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

are  among  the  most  notable  in  the  annals  of 
China.  The  work  of  consolidation  begun  by 
the  First  Emperor  was  carried  on  and  com- 
pleted. That  strong  man's  policy  of  vigorous 
centralization  which  had  aroused  so  much  op- 
position was  followed,  but  in  a  milder  form. 
The  feudalism  of  the  Chou  was  reinstituted, 
but  was  much  modified  and  curtailed.  The 
power  of  the  emperor  was  supreme  and  under  a 
number  of  vigorous  monarchs  became  increas- 
ingly such  in  practice  as  well  as  in  theory.  The 
system  of  civil-service  examinations,  so  promi- 
nent in  later  dynasties,  was  partly  developed 
and  became  for  the  first  time  a  prominent 
feature  of  the  constitution  of  the  state  and  a 
means  of  strengthening  the  central  power.  By 
these  examinations  candidates  for  office  were 
chosen,  not  on  the  basis  of  birth,  but  of  merit 
and  education.  The  system  led  to  a  bureau- 
cracy, admission  to  which  was  competitive,  a 
bureaucracy  which  centered  in  the  emperor 
and  strengthened  his  power  in  contrast  with 
that  of  the  local  hereditary  chieftains.  Care 
was  taken  to  give  to  the  new  dynasty  the  forms 
and  the  sanctions  of  antiquity.  The  learned 
men,  so  frowned  on  by  the  First  Emperor,  were 
encouraged  to  come  out  of  hiding.  Confucius 

31 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

was  accorded  higher  official  honors  than  in 
any  preceding  age,  partly  perhaps  because  it 
was  seen  that  in  him,  a  revered  teacher  of  an- 
tiquity, there  was  a  real  friend  of  benevolent 
absolutism,  and  partly  to  win  the  support  of 
the  influential  scholar  class  and  to  use  them 
through  the  civil-service  system  to  offset  the 
power  of  the  local  princes.  The  constitution  of 
the  Han,  while  not  so  radical  a  departure  from 
the  past  nor  so  highly  centralized  as  that  of  the 
First  Emperor,  was  built  on  the  model  fur- 
nished by  him.  It  has  endured,  with  natural 
developments  and  modifications,  but  un- 
changed as  to  essentials,  through  all  the  chang- 
ing centuries,  and  is  to  be  found  at  the  basis 
of  the  political  organization  of  even  the  new 
China. 

The  Han  period  was  as  well  one  of  extensive 
conquests  and  territorial  expansion,  largely 
under  the  direction  of  the  ruler  who  is  rightly 
called  the  "Military  Emperor."  *  At  the  acces- 
sion of  the  dynasty  China  included  roughly 
only  that  part  of  the  Eighteen  Provinces 
which  lies  east  of  the  great  western  province 
of  Szechuan  and  in  and  to  the  north  of  the 

1  Wu  Ti,  known  as  Han  Wu  Ti,  to  distinguish  him  from 
emperors  of  other  dynasties  with  the  same  title. 

32 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

Yangtze  Valley.  Under  the  generals  of  the  Han 
the  Chinese  conquests  were  extended  until  the 
boundaries  of  the  empire  inclosed  nearly  if  not 
quite  as  large  an  area  as  that  occupied  by  its 
Western  contemporary,  the  Roman  power,  at 
its  height.  On  the  south  and  southwest  they 
reached  beyond  what  is  now  the  southwestern 
boundary  of  China,  and  into  what  were  later 
to  become  the  southwestern  and  western  prov- 
inces (Yunnan,  Kweichow,  and  Szechuan). 
These  sections  were  not  at  this  time  to  be  per- 
manently incorporated  into  Chinese  territory. 
That  was  to  be  postponed  for  some  centuries. 
But  they  were  marked  out  as  part  of  the  logical 
possession  of  the  Chinese.  On  the  north,  part 
of  what  is  now  Southern  Manchuria,  Inner 
Mongolia,  and  Northern  Korea  was  subdued. 
But  the  great  wars  of  the  times  were  against 
the  nomadic  or  semi-nomadic  peoples  of  the 
North  and  Northwest,  some  of  whom  were 
probably  the  ancestors  of  the  Huns  who  were 
later  to  work  havoc  in  Europe.  In  a  series  of 
campaigns  these  were  pushed  back  or  subju- 
gated. This  apparently  was  done,  partly  to  rid 
China  of  her  traditional  invaders,  and  partly 
to  open  up  the  overland  trade  routes  to  the 
West.  In  our  own  day  intrepid  exploration  has 

33 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

brought  to  light  the  fortified  outposts  of  the 
Han  generals,  extensive,  long-abandoned  fron- 
tier walls  so  situated  that  they  could  protect 
the  Chinese  end  of  the  road  to  the  Occident. 

Along  this  overland  route  there  was  inter- 
course with  the  West.  Just  how  extensive  it 
was  we  do  not  know.  It  must  at  best  have  been 
difficult.  The  great  distances,  the  elevation  of 
the  passes,  the  desert  nature  of  much  of  the 
road,  and  the  dangers  from  robbers  must  have 
prevented  it  from  growing  to  any  great  vol- 
ume. Chinese  products  we  know  went  to  the 
West.  Roman  ladies  wore  Chinese  silks,  and 
other  products  that  combined  light  weight  and 
small  bulk  with  large  value  found  their  way  to 
the  markets  of  Egypt,  Syria,  and  Rome. 
Chinese  travelers  penetrated  as  far  as  the 
Persian  Gulf  and  brought  back  some  knowl- 
edge of  the  Roman  Orient.  Traces  of  Greek 
culture  left  in  the  wake  of  the  conquests  of 
Alexander  long  survived  in  Persia  and  in  the 
districts  to  the  northwest  of  India.  Some 
of  them  made  their  influence  felt  in  China. 
There  was  some  Greek  and  Central  Asiatic  in- 
fluence on  art.  Grapes,  glass,  and  many  other 
fruits  and  objects  seem  to  have  been  intro- 
duced into  China  during  this  period  and  some 

34 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

of  these  at  least  are  called  in  Chinese  by  what 
are  probably  modifications  of  foreign  names. 

The  most  influential  foreign  contribution  of 
the  period,  however,  was  Buddhism.  Gautama 
Buddha,  the  founder  of  the  faith,  had  lived 
and  taught  in  India  at  about  the  time  that 
Confucius  was  teaching  in  China.  He  repre- 
sented a  development  from  the  older  Indian 
faith,  the  predecessor  of  present-day  Hindu- 
ism. After  a  long  search  for  the  light  through 
the  traditional  religious  channels  of  his  time, 
and  after  long  struggles  and  agony  of  soul,  he 
came  out  into  a  peace  and  a  joy  which  with  the 
enthusiasm  of  a  discoverer  he  tried  to  commu- 
nicate to  others.  His  teaching,  briefly  summa- 
rized, was  as  follows :  Human  life  is  filled  with 
suffering.  Suffering  is  caused  by  desire,  desire  for 
the  gratification  of  the  senses,  for  prosperity, 
and  for  an  eternal  life  of  bliss.  If  one  would  be 
rid  of  suffering  he  must  rid  himself  of  its  cause. 
Desire,  Gautama  taught,  was  to  be  conquered 
by  following  an  eight-fold  path.  This  path 
especially  emphasized  a  life  filled  with  self- 
forgetful,  loving  service  and  righteous  deeds. 
If  the  eight-fold  path  were  faithfully  followed 
it  would  lead  to  the  extinction  of  desire,  Bud- 

dhahood    (enlightenment),   or   Nirvana.     As 

35 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

taught  by  Gautama  the  system  was  not  in  the 
strict  sense  of  the  word  a  religion.  One  was 
neither  to  look  for  nor  to  receive  divine  aid  in 
achieving  enlightenment,  or  salvation.  There 
was  no  ever-present,  unchanging,  supreme 
God.  The  gods  of  the  older  faiths  might  have 
an  actual  existence,  but  like  man  they  were 
subject  to  change  and  were  inferior  to  the  en- 
lightened man.  They  had  best  be  ignored.  A 
life  of  righteousness,  of  self-forgetful,  loving 
service,  was  the  only  life  that  would  avail  to 
free  one  from  the  chain  of  existence  and 
suffering. 

After  Gautama's  death  his  teachings  under- 
went great  modifications.  His  way  of  life  and 
the  spiritual  rebirth  it  necessitated  could  be 
intelligently  followed  only  by  the  few.  His 
doctrines  were  popularized  and  were  patron- 
ized by  the  state,  but  in  the  process  they  be- 
came the  foundation  of  Buddhism,  a  religion, 
which,  while  professing  loyalty  to  the  simple 
ethical  teachings  of  the  founder,  differed  from 
them  materially  and  deified  Gautama.  This 
transformation  proceeded  with  the  years  until 
the  founder  would  hardly  have  recognized  the 
system  that  bore  his  name.  In  some  states  to 

the  northwest  of  India  it  underwent  still  fur- 

36 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

ther  transformations  *  and  in  its  art  at  least 
came  under  Greek  influence.  These  states  to 
the  northwest  of  India  were  directly  in  touch 
with  China  by  the  overland  trade  routes 
opened  up  by  the  Han  generals,  and  it  was  only 
natural  that  Buddhism  should  find  its  way  to 
China.  This  it  did  as  early  as  the  first  century 
after  Christ.  It  did  not,  however,  achieve  an 
immediate,  widespread  popularity,  and  it  was 
some  centuries  before  it  obtained  a  firm  foot- 
hold. 

The  Han  dynasty,  with  its  long  period  of 
peace  and  unified  rule,  was  marked  by  an  ad- 
vance in  many  elements  of  Chinese  culture. 
Literature  was  highly  developed.  The  written 
character  took  on  the  form  which  it  has  kept, 
with  only  slight  modifications,  to  the  present 
time.  The  literary  style  then  developed  is  still 
a  standard  and  is  greatly  admired  and  even 
followed  by  present-day  writers.  Histories 
were  composed,  among  them  one  of  the  most 
famous  ever  produced  by  a  Chinese,2  one 
which  will  compare  favorably  with  the  works 
of  the  great  Greek  and  Roman  historians.  The 

1  Especially  under  the  King   Kanishka,  of  the  Kushan 
dynasty. 

a  That  by  Ssu  Ma  Ch'ien,  now  partially  translated  into 
French  and  edited  by  E.  Chavannes.  (See  Bibliography.) 

37 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

writings  of  Confucius  were  recovered  and 
edited,  and  extensive  commentaries  were  writ- 
ten on  them.  Under  state  patronage,  the  Con- 
fucian school  became  more  and  more  dominant 
among  the  intellectual  classes.  Its  teachings,  it 
is  true,  underwent  modifications  and  reflect  the 
influence  of  the  current  Taoist  thought,  but 
in  their  essentials  they  held  firmly  to  the 
spirit  of  the  great  sage.  Taoism,  in  the  corrupt 
form  it  had  taken  on  in  the  days  preceding  the 
Ch'in  dynasty,  was  extremely  popular.  With 
its  demonology  and  with  its  promise  of  immor- 
tality it  appealed  to  the  popular  mind,  for  then 
as  now  the  mass  of  the  people  were  profoundly 
superstitious  and  craved  a  more  definite  an- 
swer to  the  problem  of  life  beyond  the  grave 
than  was  supplied  by  the  pragmatic  school  of 
Confucianism.  Painting  developed,  although 
no  examples  of  the  work  of  the  time  have  come 
down  to  us.  Sculpture  was  in  wide  use,  as  the 
many  examples  that  still  exist  testify.  It  was 
of  a  very  different  type  from  that  of  to-day,  for 
it  had  not  yet  been  influenced  materially  by 
Indian  Buddhistic  art.  Great  developments 
were  made  in  the  potter's  art.  True  paper  was 
possibly  made  for  the  first  time,  and  naturally 
helped  in  the  dissemination  of  thought.  Alto- 

38 


FORMATIVE  CENTURIES 

gether  the  Han  dynasty  covers  one  of  the  main 
formative  periods  of  Chinese  culture.  The 
China  of  the  later  ages  then  first  took  definite 
form,  and  it  is  likely  that  a  Chinese  of  the  early 
nineteenth  century  would  have  had  but  little 
more  difficulty  in  feeling  at  home  in  the  Han 
period,  had  he  by  any  chance  found  himself 
transferred  there,  than  would  an  Englishman 
of  the  Early  Victorian  period  in  the  age  of 
Elizabeth. 


CHAPTER  III 

PROM  THE  HAN  DYNASTY,  THE  END  OP  THE 
FORMATIVE  PERIOD,  TO  THE  FIRST  WAR 
WITH  ENGLAND,  THE  INITIAL  SHOCK  OF  THE 
WESTERN  IMPACT  ON  CHINA 

AFTER  more  than  four  centuries  of  rule  the 
Han  dynasty  became  hopelessly  corrupt  and 
inefficient.  Once  in  the  first  century  after 
Christ  it  had  been  so  weak  that  a  usurper *  had 
succeeded  for  a  time  in  seizing  the  reins  of 
power,  but  it  had  enjoyed  a  rebirth  and  for  a 
time  its  glory  seemed  as  great  as  ever.  During 
the  second  century  after  Christ,  however,  the 
dynasty  gave  indications  which  show  the 
astute  observer  that  it  was  about  to  forfeit 
permanently  its  right  to  the  imperial  title.  The 
emperors  were  elevated  to  the  throne  during 
boyhood  or  even  infancy  and  were  dominated 
by  regents.  The  power  of  the  palace  eunuchs 
increased,  always  a  sign  in  China  of  dynastic 
weakness.  Misrule  became  fearfully  evident 
and  rebellion  arose.  The  empire  was  divided 
into  warring  states  and  Chinese  unity  and  the 
Han  dynasty  disappeared. 

1  Wang  Mang. 
40 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

Then  followed  nearly  four  centuries  of  dis- 
union characterized  by  civil  strife  and  foreign 
invasion.  First  was  what  is  known  to  the 
Chinese  as  the  period  of  the  "Three  King- 
doms." The  empire  broke  into  three  parts, 
each  with  its  prince,  and  each  struggling  for  the 
mastery.  One  of  these  parts  perpetuated  for 
a  time  the  Han  name.  Great  generals  were 
developed  and  mighty  deeds  of  strategy  and 
prowess  were  performed.1  It  is  a  period  looked 
back  upon  by  later  generations  as  one  of  ad- 
venture and  military  skill  and  is  renowned  in 
song  and  story.  But  continued  division  meant 
continued  weakness.  Short-lived  rival  dynas- 
ties arose,  each  seeking  to  conquer  the  other. 
One  or  two  achieved  a  complete  or  a  nearly 
complete  union  of  all  China,  only  to  disappear 
in  a  few  years.  Non-Chinese  peoples  on  the 
north  and  west  took  advantage  of  the  disunion 
and  increased  the  disorder  by  repeated  inva- 
sions and  conquests.  They  established  them- 
selves in  North  China,  and  for  a  time  the  coun- 
try was  divided  by  the  Yangtze  River  between 

1  The  most  famous  man  of  the  time  was  Chu  Ko  Liang, 
prime  minister  and  general  of  the  kingdom  in  West  China 
which  perpetuated  the  Han  name.  He  subdued  the  wild  tribes 
of  the  West  and  waged  successful  war  against  rival  Chinese 
states.  He  was  noted  for  his  strategy  and  his  invention  of  war 
machines. 

41 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

the  non-Chinese  states  on  the  north  and  the 
dominions  of  the  native  Chinese  on  the  south. 
It  was  one  of  the  many  times  in  which  a  polit- 
ical division  has  existed  between  the  North 
and  the  South.  A  difference  in  spirit  and  tradi- 
tion exists  to-day,  in  spite  of  political  unity, 
and  is  one  of  China's  ever-present  problems. 
The  non-Chinese  invaders  adopted  Chinese 
customs  and  were  assimilated  by  their  more 
civilized  subjects.  They  left  permanent  traces 
of  their  conquests  in  a  large  infusion  of  blood 
and  in  a  modification  of  the  language.  The 
Chinese  of  the  North  are  still  racially  and  lin- 
guistically different  from  those  of  the  South. 
They  are  larger  physically,  and  the  dialects  of 
the  two  sections  are  often  so  different  as  to  be 
mutually  unintelligible.  It  is  interesting  to 
remember  that  about  this  time  a  similar  con- 
quest of  the  civilized  Roman  Empire  was  being 
made  by  Northern  barbarians,  and  that  the 
Huns  who  had  a  share  in  that  conquest  were 
probably  closely  related  in  blood  to  some 
of  the  peoples  who  were  overrunning  North 
China. 

It  would  only  be  introducing  useless  confu- 
sion into  a  work  of  this  length  to  enumerate 
the  dynasties  and  states  and  the  famous  rulers, 

42 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

generals,  statesmen,  scholars,  and  priests  of 
these  centuries  of  disunion.  It  was  not,  how- 
ever, a  period  barren  of  progress  in  civilization. 
Occasional  ruling  houses  were  able  to  main- 
tain peace  over  limited  sections  for  long 
periods.  Under  them  the  arts  of  peace  flour- 
ished. Strangers  were  coming  from  the  out- 
side; new  blood  and  possibly  new  ideas  were 
coming  in  with  the  Northern  invaders.  It  was  a 
period  of  flux  when  the  hold  of  the  past  on  the 
nation  was  weakened  and  new  ideas  were  being 
eagerly  welcomed.  China  was  probably  more 
open-minded  and  plastic  than  it  was  again  to 
be  until  the  twentieth  century.  The  strong- 
est moulding  influence  from  abroad  was  Bud- 
dhism. It  was  important,  not  alone  for  its  re- 
ligious effect,  great  as  that  was,  but  for  the 
cultural  influences  from  Central  Asia  and  from 
India  for  which  it  was  the  vehicle.  While  Bud- 
dhism had  come  in  during  the  Han  dynasty,  it 
had  not  achieved  wide  popularity.  During  the 
centuries  of  disunion,  however,  it  found  a  dif- 
ferent reception.  Many  Buddhist  priests  now 
arrived  from  India.  Some  came  by  the  overland 
route  across  Central  Asia,  others  by  sea  to  the 
southern  ports  of  China.  They  translated  the 

Buddhist  scriptures  into  Chinese  and  revised 

43 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

existing  translations.  They  were  welcomed  as 
a  rule  with  great  cordiality,  for  not  only  were 
the  people  more  receptive  to  new  ideas  in  gen- 
eral, but  a  religious  awakening  had  taken  place 
in  China  after  the  downfall  of  the  Han.  It  had 
shown  itself  in  a  decline  in  the  popularity  of  the 
less  mystical  Confucian  school  and  in  a  more 
enthusiastic  adherence  to  the  more  mystical 
Taoism.  Although  at  times  vigorously  op- 
posed by  reactionary  monarchs  and  by  Con- 
fucian scholars,  the  more  highly  organized 
Buddhism,  with  its  impressive  ritual,  its  elab- 
orate philosophy,  its  well-organized  priest- 
hood, its  popularized  system  of  ethics,  and 
its  ready  tolerance  of  non-Buddhist  beliefs, 
achieved  on  the  whole  a  widespread  acceptance 
among  people  and  rulers.  Chinese  were  for  the 
first  time  allowed  to  take  the  vows  of  the  Bud- 
dhist priesthood.  Chinese  monks  traveled  to  In- 
dia to  visit  Buddhism  in  its  native  country  and 
to  bring  back  relics  and  manuscripts  of  sacred 
works.1  The  earliest  and  most  famous  of  these, 
Fa  Hsien,  spent  fourteen  years  in  a  most  ardu- 

1  Buddhism  was  at  this  time  gradually  disappearing  from 
India.  It  was  in  part  obliterated  by  persecution  and  it  was  in 
part  absorbed  by  orthodox  Hinduism.  It  is  interesting  to  note 
that  its  period  of  rapid  expansion  into  Eastern  Asia  coincides 
with  the  period  of  decline  in  the  land  of  its  birth. 

44 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

ous  and  hazardous  journey,  going  out  by  way  of 
Central  Asia  and  returning  by  sea  to  the  south 
coast  of  China  with  his  coveted  scriptures. 
The  narrative  of  his  adventures  and  observa- 
tions still  makes  interesting  reading  and  is  one 
of  the  best  sources  for  the  history  of  mediaeval 
India.  Buddhism  was  becoming  acclimatized 
in  China  and  was  ceasing  to  be  so  evidently 
exotic. 

As  time  went  on  Buddhist  influence  was  seen 
not  only  in  the  winning  of  active  adherents,  but 
in  its  effects  on  native  cults  as  well.  Taoism 
copied  the  Buddhist  priesthood  and  monastic 
life.  In  imitation  of  Buddhism  it  erected  tem- 
ples and  created  a  pantheon,  raising  Chinese 
worthies  to  the  divine  rank  and  representing 
them  by  images.  Its  ideas  of  the  future  life 
conformed  more  and  more  closely  to  the  Bud- 
dhist heaven  and  hell.  Even  Confucianism  felt 
the  influence,  much  as  during  the  Han  dynasty 
it  had  been  modified  by  Taoism.  Both  then 
and  in  succeeding  centuries  the  philosophy  of 
Confucian  thinkers  was  to  show  the  effect  of 
contact  with  Buddhism,  now  in  a  vigorous 
reaction  from  it  and  now  in  the  adoption 
of  some  of  its  ideas.  Confucian  temples  were 
increasingly  erected  and  images  or  tablets  of 

45 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Confucius  and  prominent  Confucian  scholars 
were  placed  in  them,  partly,  it  seems  likely, 
in  an  attempt  to  compete  with  Taoist  and 
Buddhist  shrines. 

The  spread  of  Buddhism  is  important  from 
the  religious  and  philosophical  standpoint,  but 
it  is  also  highly  important  because  of  the 
other  cultural  contributions  that  now  reached 
China.  It  was  a  vehicle  on  which  came  many 
innovations  from  India.  Buddhist  art  had  a 
profound  influence.  The  images  in  the  temples, 
the  pictures  of  saints,  with  their  traditional 
Buddhist  forms,  pagodas,  and  temples,  all  tes- 
tified to  the  contact  with  the  foreigner.  Like 
many  other  things  that  have  come  to  them 
from  without  during  the  centuries,  the  Chinese 
made  Buddhism  their  own  and  modified  its  art 
and  its  theology,  but  the  foreign  influence  is 
still  very  apparent.  It  is  interesting  to  observe 
that  some  Greek  art,  through  its  influence 
on  Buddhist  iconography  in  Central  Asia, 
has  penetrated  China,  although  it  was  so 
altered  that  the  connection  has  only  recently 
been  disclosed.  All  told,  Chinese  life  was 
profoundly  modified  by  Buddhism  and  other 
foreign  contributions  that  came  with  it,  more 
profoundly,  probably,  than  it  has  been  during 

46 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

historic  times  by  any  foreign  civilization  until 
the  present  era. 

Buddhism  did  not  stop  at  the  boundaries  of 
China.  It  spread  to  Korea  and  in  the  sixth  cen- 
tury even  reached  Japan.  In  Japan  it  became 
the  first  great  civilizing  influence  that  had 
touched  the  vigorous  peoples  of  those  islands. 
Chinese  as  well  as  Indian  culture  came  with  it, 
and  the  Land  of  the  Rising  Sun  became  a  civi- 
lized state,  looking  up  to  its  great  continental 
neighbors  as  a  model. 

The  period  of  disunion  which  had  begun  in 
A.D.  214  was  not  to  last  forever.  A  general  who 
had  served  the  monarch  of  one  of  the  states 
into  which  the  empire  was  divided,  revolted, 
and  succeeded  in  uniting  all  China  under  his 
sway.  In  589  he  founded  a  dynasty,1  but  this, 
somewhat  like  the  Ch'in  dynasty  that  pre- 
ceded the  Han,  did  not  outlast  four  decades. 
In  620  it  collapsed  before  the  insurrection  of 
another  general  who,  with  the  aid  of  one  of 
the  groups  of  Northern  nomads,  made  himself 
master  of  the  imperial  throne  and  established 
a  new  dynasty  that  was  to  last  for  nearly  three 
centuries  (618  to  907).  This  dynasty,  the 

1  The  Sui. 
47 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

T'ang,  is  a  name  to  be  remembered.  Under  it 
China  reached  a  high  eminence  of  power  and 
culture.  It  extended  Chinese  territory,  made 
possible  a  great  development  in  civilization, 
and  the  Chinese  race  became  more  numerous 
and  prosperous  than  at  any  preceding  time  in 
its  history.  This  dynasty  coincided  with  a 
period  of  general  decline  and  weakness  in  the 
Mediterranean  world,  and  for  a  while  China 
was  probably  the  greatest  state  in  the  world. 
The  territorial  conquests  of  the  T'ang  were 
extensive.  The  hardy  peoples  of  Central  Asia 
and  Mongolia  were  reduced  to  submission. 
China's  protection  was  sought  by  and  extended 
to  a  declining  royal  house  in  Persia.  Tibet  had 
recently  adopted  Buddhism  and  had  been  con- 
solidated into  a  state.  It  was  brought  by  the 
T'ang  into  a  close  tributary  alliance  with 
China,  and  Chinese  civilization  penetrated  it 
and  influenced  it  largely.  The  T'ang  power 
even  made  itself  felt  decisively  in  Northern 
India.  The  southern  portion  of  modern  Man- 
churia was  conquered.  Korea,  after  one  un- 
successful attempt,  was  reduced  to  a  group  of 
tributary  states .  South  China  was  incorporated 
into  the  empire.  It  had  been  invaded  by  the 

Ch'in  and  the  Han,  but  the  conquest  was  now 

48 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

renewed  and  made  permanent.  The  Chinese 
rule  was  even  extended  over  much  of  the  present 
French  Indo-China  (Tongking  and  Annam). 

The  great  monarch  under  whom  most  of 
this  territorial  expansion  took  place  was  T'ai 
Tsung,  or  T'ang  T'ai  Tsung,  as  he  is  usually 
designated  to  distinguish  him  from  emperors 
of  the  same  name  in  other  dynasties.  T'ang 
T'ai  Tsung  is  considered  by  many  Chinese 
scholars  to  be  the  greatest  monarch  that  the 
nation  has  ever  had.  He  was  unquestionably 
the  most  powerful  man  in  the  world  of  his  day 
and  deserves  to  be  ranked  among  the  mighti- 
est monarchs  of  the  ages.  He  was  followed 
by  a  vigorous  woman  *  who  successively  ruled 
three  nominal  emperors.  She  reminds  one 
strongly  of  the  great  empress  dowager  of  the 
Manchu  dynasty.2  Under  her  and  with  the 
aid  of  the  generals  trained  in  the  preceding 
reign,  the  conquests  of  T'ai  Tsung  were  main- 
tained and  even  extended.  The  control  of 
these  two  vigorous  monarchs  over  China  to- 
gether covered  nearly  eighty  years.  Under 
them  the  dynasty  was  so  firmly  established 
that  it  maintained  itself  until  907  in  spite  of 
frequent  rebellions  and  weak  rulers. 

1  Wu  Fu.  8  See  below,  p.  157. 

49 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Under  the  T'ang  Chinese  culture  reached  a 
new  height  of  development.  Taoism  was  fa- 
vored by  the  rulers  partly  because  of  the  fan- 
cied descent  of  the  dynasty  from  the  founder  of 
the  sect.  It  had  by  this  time  largely  taken  on 
the  form  so  well  known  to-day,  a  mixture  of  its 
primitive  mysticism,  now  an  almost  negligible 
element,  of  the  demon  exorcism  and  search  for 
the  elixir  of  life  that  had  been  so  prominent  a 
feature  during  the  Ch'in  and  the  Han  dynasties, 
and  of  Buddhism.  Buddhism  had  varying  for- 
tunes. The  first  emperor  of  the  dynasty  had 
frowned  on  it,  and  state  supervision  was  usually 
enforced,  but  most  of  the  emperors  regarded 
it  with  tolerance  and  many  greatly  aided  it. 
The  Confucian  philosophy  was  also  honored 
with  that  impartial  tolerance  that  with  occa- 
sional exceptions  has  been  the  characteristic 
of  the  people  and  the  monarchs  of  China. 
The  stricter  members  of  the  Confucian  school 
looked  with  disdain  on  Taoism  and  Buddhism, 
however,  and  one  famous  scholar 1  of  T'ang 
times  attacked  Buddhist  superstitions  and 
veneration  of  relics  with  a  trenchant  sar- 
casm that  makes  interesting  reading  even  to- 
day. 

1  HanWenKung. 
50 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

Learning  was  favored.  The  civil-service  ex- 
aminations of  preceding  dynasties  were  reor- 
ganized and  developed.  For  the  capstone  of  the 
system  there  was  formed  the  Hanlin  Academy, 
which  was  to  endure  to  our  own  time.  Admis- 
sion to  it  has  been  regarded  through  the  years 
as  the  highest  reward  of  scholarship.  The 
court  gazette,  possibly  the  oldest  newspaper 
in  the  world,  was  begun  as  the  official  organ  for 
the  publication  of  decrees,  appointments,  and 
such  other  information  as  the  central  govern- 
ment wished  to  give  out.  Schools  were  organ- 
ized and  encouraged.  Literature  blossomed. 
Poets  flourished  who  are  still  regarded  as 
among  China's  greatest.  Some  of  these  were 
a  bibulous  lot,  and  the  most  famous l  is  said  to 
have  perished  in  a  drunken  effort  to  embrace 
the  reflection  of  the  moon  in  a  lake.  A  vigor- 
ous prose  was  developed  in  a  style  that  to-day 
remains  a  model.  Painting  reached  a  high 
state  of  perfection.2  Some  of  the  T'ang  land- 
scapes and  figures  that  survive  are  notable  for 
their  beauty  and  refinement  of  feeling.  They 
furnished  inspiration  to  the  budding  art  of 

1  Li  Po,  or  Li  Tai  Po. 

2  The  most  famous  painter  of  the  time  is  probably  Wu  Tao 
Tzu. 

51 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Japan,  and  in  spite  of  differences  in  ideals  and 
technique  easily  bear  comparison  with  the  best 
that  the  West  has  produced. 

Freed  partly  from  the  ravages  of  civil  war  the 
population  increased  beyond  all  previous  num- 
bers. Material  prosperity  came.  Both  internal 
and  external  commerce  flourished.  Trade  was 
carried  on  with  the  West  by  the  caravan  routes 
across  Central  Asia,  now  reopened  and  made 
safe  by  the  conquests  of  the  T'ang  armies. 
Merchants  from  India  and  from  other  coun- 
tries of  Southern  Asia  frequented  the  ports  of 
South  China.  In  this  trade  the  Arabs  predomi- 
nated and  were  the  commercial  predecessors  of 
the  present  Europeans. 

Many  other  foreigners  found  their  way  to 
China.  The  Manicheans,  followers  of  the 
Persian  prophet  Mani,  came  and  propagated 
their  faith.  The  Nestorian  form  of  Christianity, 
one  of  the  divisions  of  the  Eastern  Church,  had 
spread  extensively  through  Central  and  South- 
ern Asia  and  continued  to  be  popular  there  for 
some  centuries.  Its  priests  found  their  way  to 
the  capital  city  of  the  T'ang  and  attracted  im- 
perial notice  and  favor.  The  power  and  fame 
of  the  empire  attracted  to  it  representatives  of 

less  civilized  peoples,  and  Chinese  culture  was 

52 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

copied  in  many  parts  of  Eastern  Asia.  The 
Japanese  came  in  numbers  to  the  capital  and 
carried  back  with  them  to  the  island  empire  the 
written  language,  the  art,  the  political  organ- 
ization, and  the  Buddhism  of  their  great  conti- 
nental neighbor. 

In  time,  however,  the  dynasty  disintegrated. 
Rebellions  became  more  numerous.  A  succes- 
sion of  weak  monarchs  sat  on  the  throne.  The 
palace  eunuchs  increased  in  power  and  cast 
their  baleful  influence  over  the  administration, 
and  the  imperial  title  was  usurped  by  a  com- 
mon adventurer.  China,  however,  felt  perma- 
nently the  effects  of  the  work  of  the  earlier 
T'ang  rulers  and  was  never  again  to  sink  for 
long  to  the  disunion  and  misery  that  pre- 
ceded them. 

Following  the  house  of  T'ang  the  empire  was 
for  over  half  a  century  (907-960)  in  the  hands 
of  a  succession  of  military  chieftains.  The 
period  is  known  as  that  of  the  "Five  Dynas- 
ties," for  five  were  founded  in  quick  succession 
by  as  many  generals.  The  boundaries  of  China 
had  shrunk  sadly  under  the  weak  hands  of  the 
last  T'ang  emperors,  and  now  no  one  of  these 
five  ephemeral  dynasties  exercised  control  even 
over  all  of  China  proper.  Tatar  tribes  found 

53 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

North  China  an  easy  victim.  One  of  the  few 
redeeming  features  of  the  years  of  disorder  was 
the  invention  of  printing  by  means  of  carved 
wooden  blocks  (ca.  953).  It  antedated  the  in- 
vention of  printing  in  Europe  by  more  than 
half  a  millennium,  and  has  been  vastly  influen- 
tial in  Chinese  literary  life. 

Out  of  the  chaos  of  kaleidoscopic  dynasties 
there  arose  a  strong  man  who  by  force  of  arms 
conquered  his  rivals,  unified  the  country,  and 
succeeded  in  establishing  his  house  so  securely 
that  it  lasted  under  the  dynastic  name  of  Sung 
for  over  two  centuries  (960  to  1280).  The 
China  of  the  Sung  dynasty  did  not  reach  the 
territorial  limits  set  by  the  T'ang.  It  had  an 
almost  constant  struggle  with  the  Tatar  tribes 
of  the  North,  one  of  which,  the  Kin  Tatars,  or 
"Golden  Horde,"  finally  established  itself  in 
North  China,  took  from  the  Sung  monarchs 
the  possession  of  the  northernmost  provinces, 
and  levied  tribute  on  the  remainder. 

These  two  centuries,  in  spite  of  constant  and 
frequently  unsuccessful  warfare,  were  marked 
by  an  unusually  brilliant  culture.  Poetry,  art 
of  various  kinds,  and  literature  flourished. 
Schools  were  established,  some  of  which  sur- 
vive to-day,  educational  foundations  older 

54 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

than  any  in  Europe.  Famous  histories  were 
written.  The  period  was  especially  noted  for 
its  original  philosophy  and  for  its  innovations 
and  speculations  in  the  art  of  government. 
The  philosophy  centers  around  Chu  Hsi  (1130- 
1200),  the  greatest  scholar  of  his  age.  In  early 
life  he  was  influenced  by  Buddhism  and  Tao- 
ism, but  in  later  years  he  reacted  against  them, 
and  became  an  earnest  student  and  interpreter 
of  the  writings  of  the  Confucian  school.  His 
philosophy  dominated  the  thought  of  that 
school  for  nearly  seven  centuries.  His  com- 
mentaries on  the  Classics  remained  standard 
down  to  our  own  day.  He  attempted  to  rule 
out  of  Confucianism  its  supernatural  elements, 
and  it  is  due  largely  to  him  that  during  the  past 
several  centuries  the  tendency  of  the  school  has 
been  strongly  toward  agnosticism  in  religion. 
Chu  Hsi  was  the  greatest  exponent  of  a  re- 
vived Confucianism.  Buddhism  lost  in  popu- 
larity and  the  works  of  the  great  Chinese  sages 
grew  in  favor.  Confucianism  rose  to  greater 
heights  of  state  patronage  than  ever  before,  and 
took  on  the  form  that  it  was  to  preserve  until 
our  own  day. 

Less  lasting  were  the  governmental  reforms 
of  Wang  An  Shih.   This  man  was  a  brilliant 

55 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

scholar  and  poet  and  a  daring  innovator  in 
administration.  To  his  mind  the  Chinese  state, 
always  paternalistic,  should  extend  its  func- 
tions to  include  a  wide  range  of  hitherto  un- 
touched activities.  He  proposed  a  system 
which  closely  resembled  in  parts  some  of  the 
suggestions  of  Western  Socialists  of  to-day. 
The  commerce  of  the  empire  was  to  be  na- 
tionalized. Taxes  were  to  be  paid  in  land 
products  and  manufactures,  and  the  govern- 
ment was  to  buy  all  surplus  products,  transport 
them  to  places  where  they  were  needed,  and 
sell  them.  It  was  an  attempt  to  do  away  with 
the  profits  of  the  middleman.  Moreover,  the 
poorer  cultivators  were  to  have  state  advances 
of  capital  to  help  them  with  their  crops,  a 
measure  that  would  relieve  the  farmer  of  the 
exactions  of  private  money-lenders.  Public 
works,  which  had  heretofore  been  built  by 
compulsory  labor,  were  now  to  be  constructed 
by  the  proceeds  of  an  income  tax,  so  that  their 
cost  would  be  shifted  from  the  poor  to  the  rich. 
To  defend  the  empire  against  barbarians,  a 
system  of  extensive  enrollment  in  the  militia 
was  planned.  It  was  designed  to  place  the  bur- 
den of  defense  on  all.  The  civil-service  exam- 
ination system  was  reorganized  and  subjects 

56 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO   1840 

of  more  practical  import  for  officials  were  in- 
troduced. Wang  An  Shih  insisted  that  if  a  man 
were  to  be  an  official  he  must  show  power  of 
independent  thinking  and  must  know  some- 
thing of  government  and  economics.  He 
brought  out  new  commentaries  on  the  Classics, 
using  them  to  illustrate  his  views.  He  won  the 
ear  of  the  emperor  and  for  a  time  had  the  op- 
portunity of  trying  out  his  suggestions  on  the 
nation.  The  ignorance  of  the  people,  the  dis- 
honesty of  the  officials,  and  the  opposition  of 
the  moneyed  classes  as  well  as  of  the  scholars 
of  the  orthodox  Confucian  school,  proved  too 
much  for  him,  however,  and  his  system  broke 
down.  His  career  remains  an  interesting  ex- 
ample of  that  strain  of  radicalism  which  seems 
inherent  in  Chinese  nature.  There  had  been 
famous  reformers  in  earlier  dynasties,  and  he 
reminds  one  strongly  of  the  extremist  tenden- 
cies of  many  of  his  countrymen  of  to-day.  The 
violence  of  this  radicalism  may  partly  account 
for  the  unyielding  conservatism  by  which  in 
past  generations  it  has  been  met  and  over- 
come. 

The  culture  of  the  Sung  dynasty  was  note- 
worthy for  art  as  well  as  for  philosophy  and 
political  theory.  Painting  reached  its  highest 

57 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

development.  The  works  of  the  Sung  artists 
have  never  been  surpassed  in  China  for  deli- 
cacy of  touch  and  feeling  and  have  been  the 
inspiration  of  some  of  the  best  art  in  Japan. 
Landscape  painting  was  especially  developed 
in  the  attempt  to  portray  the  soul  back  of 
nature.  It  ranks  with  the  best  that  the  human 
hand  has  produced.  Poetry  flourished.  The 
dynasty  was  an  age  of  refinement. 

The  Sung  dynasty,  although  brilliant  in  its 
culture,  was  fatally  weak  in  its  military  de- 
fenses and  finally  was  driven  out  by  invaders 
from  Central  Asia,  the  Mongols.  These  Mon- 
gols were  originally  a  group  of  tribes  in  what 
is  now  Northern  Mongolia.  Under  a  series  of 
able  leaders  they  became  welded  together 
into  a  powerful  fighting  machine.  In  the  early 
thirteenth  century,  by  superior  strategy  and 
discipline  and  under  the  able  leadership  of 
Genghis  Khan  and  his  successors,  they  over- 
ran Mongolia,  the  northern  provinces  of  China, 
Central  Asia,  Northern  India,  and  penetrated 
into  Europe.  In  Europe  they  made  themselves 
masters  of  the  Russians  and  left  an  impression 
that  in  manners  and  institutions  survives  to- 
day. They  invaded  Hungary  and  Poland.  It 

is  not  strange  that  having  conquered  distant 

58 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO   1840 

lands  they  should  cast  longing  eyes  on  the  fer- 
tile valleys  immediately  to  their  south.  They 
first  directed  their  arms  against  the  Kin  Tatars 
in  North  China,  and  after  a  long  struggle  suc- 
ceeded in  overturning  their  state,  taking  their 
capital  on  the  site  of  Peking  in  1215  —  the 
year  of  Magna  Carta.  The  Sung  emperor 
joined  with  the  Mongols  against  the  Kin,  but 
after  the  downfall  of  the  latter  the  allies  fell 
into  a  dispute  over  a  division  of  the  spoils.  The 
Mongols  turned  against  the  Chinese  and  after 
a  struggle  of  several  decades  succeeded  in  cap- 
turing Nanking,  their  capital,  and  putting  an 
end  to  the  dynasty  (1280). 

Kublai  Khan,  the  Mongol  ruler,  now  be- 
came Emperor  of  China,  and  established  his 
line  as  the  Yuan  dynasty  (1280-1368).  Con- 
quests were  carried  farther.  Korea  was  won. 
Burma  and  the  present  French  Indo-China 
were  successfully  invaded.  Even  the  Japanese 
islands  were  attacked,  although  unsuccess- 
fully. The  empire  so  established  was  one  of 
the  mightiest  that  the  world  has  seen,  reach- 
ing from  the  Black  Sea  on  the  west  to  the 
Yellow  Sea  on  the  east,  and  from  Northern 
Mongolia  on  the  north  to  the  Himalayas  and 
Annam  on  the  south.  Peace  was  maintained 

59 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

along  the  overland  trade  routes  of  Central  Asia 
and  commerce  by  sea  was  encouraged  between 
the  ports  of  South  China  and  the  Near  East. 
Merchants  and  missionaries  from  Western 
Europe  reached  China,  or  Cathay  as  they 
called  it,  and  took  back  with  them  stories  of 
the  splendor  of  the  court  of  the  emperor  and  of 
the  prosperity  and  wealth  of  his  dominions. 
Marco  Polo,  a  Venetian  merchant,  lived  for 
some  years  at  Kublai's  court  and  in  his  employ 
traveled  extensively  over  the  empire.  The  nar- 
rative of  his  travels  was  widely  read  in  Europe 
and  helped  to  make  China  well  known.  The 
order  of  St.  Francis  was  then  in  the  first  flush 
of  its  missionary  enthusiasm  and  brothers  of 
the  order  came  to  Peking.  They  were  hos- 
pitably received  and  made  at  least  some 
converts.  Their  work  was  not  followed  up, 
however,  and  none  of  their  churches  survive. 
Interesting  narratives  of  their  experiences  are 
all  that  remain. 

Kublai  was  a  patron  of  the  arts  of  peace  as 
well  as  of  war.  The  construction  of  the  Grand 
Canal l  is  attributed  to  him.  Order  and  justice 
were  maintained  and  the  nation  grew  in  wealth 
and  population.  His  successors  were  for  the 

1  See  above,  p.  3. 
60 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

most  part  feeble  rulers.  They  failed  to  identify 
themselves  with  the  Chinese.  They  held  China 
as  a  subject  country  and  did  not  wisely  asso- 
ciate Chinese  with  themselves  in  the  highest 
offices.  Disputed  successions  were  the  rule  and 
civil  strife  and  disorders  were  common.  Still  a 
few  changes  occurred  in  the  national  life.  The 
novel  and  the  drama  first  became  prominent, 
although  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  were 
foreign  or  indigenous  in  origin.  Neither  has 
reached  the  high  degree  of  perfection  to  which 
they  have  attained  in  the  West,  partly,  per- 
haps, because  the  scholar  class  of  China  has 
never  given  itself  to  their  production. 

After  less  than  a  century  of  power  the  Mon- 
gol dynasty  disappeared  in  a  welter  of  disorder. 
Out  of  it  there  emerged,  as  at  the  break-up 
of  preceding  dynasties,  a  general,  best  known 
to  later  generations  by  the  title  Hung  Wu,1 
who  succeeded  in  establishing  a  new  ruling 
house.  Hung  Wu  had  for  a  time  been  a  Bud- 
dhist monk,  having  taken  up  that  life  after  the 
loss  of  his  family  and  nearer  relatives  in  a  pesti- 
lence. He  joined  a  rebel  band  as  a  subordinate, 
but  by  his  ability  rose  to  chief  command.  His 
band  grew  to  an  army  and  succeeded  first  in 

1  His  personal  name  was  Chu  Yuan  Chang. 
61 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

driving  the  Mongols  out  of  South  China  and 
then  out  of  the  North.  The  new  dynasty, 
which  rejoiced  in  the  name  "Ming,"  or  "bril- 
liant," lasted  from  1368  to  1644.  The  founder 
made  his  chief  residence  at  Nanking  (the 
"Southern  Capital "  as  contrasted  with  Peking, 
the  "Northern  Capital").  Here  the  mighty 
city  walls  and  the  tombs  of  his  family  still  bear 
witness  to  his  power.  Under  this  native  dy- 
nasty the  boundaries  of  China  were  confined  in 
the  main  to  the  Eighteen  Provinces,  or  China 
proper,  although  Burma  was  forced  to  pay 
tribute  and  Tongking  was  reduced.  Of  the 
successors  of  the  founder  little  need  be  said. 
One  of  them  moved  the  capital  again  to  Pe- 
king, where  it  has  since  remained.  Wars  were 
carried  on  with  the  Mongols,  for  they  did  not 
tamely  submit  to  the  loss  of  power  and  were 
for  this  dynasty  the  successors  of  those  Central 
Asiatic  peoples  who  through  every  period  of 
Chinese  history  have  been  pressing  down 
toward  the  fertile  valleys  of  the  south  and 
west.  The  Japanese  harassed  the  coast  of 
China  and  under  their  mighty  captain  Hideyo- 
shi  invaded  and  for  a  time  overran  Korea. 
The  culture  of  the  dynasty  was  not  marked 

by  any  great  creative  work.  It  was  content  to 

62, 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

reproduce  the  past  and  to  expend  its  energy  in 
conventional  ways.  The  civil-service  examina- 
tions were  thoroughly  reorganized,  but  were 
based  on  a  stereotyped  form  that  discouraged 
creative  thought  and  that  became  a  bulwark  of 
conservatism.  The  scholarly  activity  of  the 
period  went  not  so  much  into  new  thought  as 
into  the  compilation  of  collections  of  older 
works.  The  idea  of  such  collections  was  not 
new,  for  some  had  been  made  in  Sung  times 
and  even  before;  but  they  were  now  issued  in 
very  large  numbers.  Encyclopaedias  were  com- 
piled, still  another  type  of  literature  that  had 
been  largely  developed  by  Sung  scholars. 
There  was  one  philosopher,  indeed,  Wang 
Yang  Ming,  who  thought  vigorously  and  inde- 
pendently. He  had  a  long  and  honorable  offi- 
cial career,  interrupted  at  one  time  by  years  of 
severe  adversity.  He  had  learned  to  look 
within  himself  for  strength  and  knowledge  and 
not  to  the  outer  world.  He  was  the  advocate 
of  self-reliance,  of  conscious  and  intuitive 
judgment.  He  has  been  greatly  honored  in 
Japan,  where  he  was  very  popular  with  the 
older  military  class.  Painting  lacked  the  great 
creative  power  and  the  delicacy  of  feeling  of 
the  Sung  and  the  T'ang.  Lacquer-work,  porce- 

63 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

lain,  and  bronze-work  reached  a  high  stage 
of  development  and  occasionally  rose  to  the 
plane  of  true  art.  But  though  it  was  lacking  in 
originality,  the  period  was  for  the  mass  of 
people  one  of  peace,  material  prosperity,  and 
expansion.  Population  increased  beyond  any 
previous  figures,  and  the  Chinese  race  not  only 
pressed  more  and  more  insistently  upon  the 
non-Chinese  races  in  the  Eighteen  Provinces, 
but  emigrated  to  the  Philippines  and  the  Malay 
Peninsula. 

From  the  standpoint  of  to-day,  however,  the 
Ming  dynasty  is  especially  noteworthy  as  the 
period  in  which  Europeans  first  began  to  come 
in  numbers  to  China  by  sea.  It  was  the  period 
so  familiar  to  all  students  of  European  history 
as  the  age  of  discoveries.  The  hardy  mariners 
of  Southwestern  Europe  were  trying  to  dis- 
cover a  sea  route  to  the  fabled  riches  of  the 
East,  the  land  of  spices.  The  hope  of  finding 
Cathay  and  the  court  of  the  Great  Khan,  made 
known  by  Marco  Polo  and  the  travelers  of  the 
Mongol  period,  helped  to  lure  them  on.  In  the 
last  decade  of  the  fifteenth  century  Columbus 
sailed  westward  in  the  hope  of  reaching  India 
and  Cathay.  The  Portuguese  rounded  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  reached  India  in  the 

64 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

same  decade  (1498).  Within  twenty  years 
the  Portuguese  Empire  had  been  established  in 
India  and  Portuguese  traders  were  coming  to 
China.  The  first  of  these  arrived  in  South 
China  in  1517.  They  followed  in  the  route  of 
the  Arabs  whose  trade  on  the  Indian  coast  they 
had  broken  up,  and  naturally  came  to  those 
ports  on  the  China  coast  with  which  the  Arabs 
had  traded  for  so  long.  It  was  years,  however, 
before  the  China,  reached  thus  by  sea  via  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope  and  the  Straits  of  Ma- 
lacca, was  identified  with  the  Cathay  reached 
overland  by  Marco  Polo  and  the  Franciscans. 
The  early  Portuguese  traders  were  truculent 
fellows  for  the  most  part,  half  merchant,  half 
pirate,  and  raised  much  disorder  in  the  ports  of 
South  China.  They  finally  established  them- 
selves on  a  strip  of  seacoast  at  Macao,  not  far 
from  Canton,  which  they  had  rented  from  the 
Chinese  and  which  they  have  held  through  all 
the  succeeding  years. 

After  the  Portuguese  came  the  Spaniards. 
These  established  themselves  in  the  Philip- 
pines and  were  but  little  in  China.  The  peo- 
ples of  Northern  Europe,  not  to  be  outdone  by 
the  Portuguese  and  the  Spaniards,  desired  a 

share  in  the  lucrative  trade  of  the  East.  Dur- 

65 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ing  the  sixteenth  century  the  Dutch  made 
themselves  independent  of  Spain  and  sent  their 
mariners  to  the  East  Indies.  Some  reached 
China  and  settled  first  on  the  Pescadores 
Islands  and  then,  when  driven  out  by  the 
Chinese,  on  Formosa.  Still  later  came  the 
English. 

Following  the  traders  came  Christian  mis- 
sionaries. This  was  the  period  of  the  Refor- 
mation and  the  Counter-Reformation.  The 
Jesuits,  the  great  exponents  of  the  Counter- 
Reformation,  were  zealous  missionaries,  not 
only  in  Protestant  countries,  but  in  non-Chris- 
tian lands.  They  sent  representatives  to  the 
heart  of  North  and  South  America  and  to  the 
countries  of  the  Far  East.  Peoples  as  widely 
removed  from  each  other  as  the  Japanese  and 
the  Indians  of  Paraguay  and  the  Mississippi 
experienced  their  apostolic  zeal.  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  one  of  the  companions  of  the  founder  of 
the  Jesuits,  came  to  India  and  Japan,  and  died 
on  an  island  in  sight  of  China  in  1552.  Follow- 
ing him  came  others,  some  of  whom  went  to 
Peking  and  achieved  a  considerable  reputation 
through  their  knowledge  of  astronomy  and 
mathematics. 

This  coming  of  the  Europeans  is  important, 
66 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

but  not  because  it  led  immediately  to  any  great 
changes  in  China.  They  were  looked  upon  by 
the  Chinese  as  of  no  more  consequence  than 
many  of  the  other  peoples  who  from  time  to 
time  had  come  to  the  Middle  Kingdom.  They 
are  important  rather  because  they  were  fore- 
runners of  that  intercourse  with  Europe  which 
was  to  go  on  continuously  until  the  present  in 
ever-accelerating  volume,  and  which  has  in  our 
own  day  produced  such  mighty  changes. 

Before  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury the  Ming  dynasty  began  to  show  un- 
mistakable signs  of  decay.  Monarchs  of  less 
vigorous  character  than  the  founder  occupied 
the  throne.  The  palace  eunuchs  grew  in  in- 
fluence. Unrest  showed  itself  among  the  peo- 
ple. The  dynasty  seemed  doomed  to  an  early 
collapse.  Another  Chinese  dynasty  would 
likely  have  taken  its  place  within  a  few  years 
had  not  the  Manchus  interfered.  The  Man- 
chus  were  a  group  of  tribes  living  in  what  is 
now  South  Manchuria  and  were  one  of  those 
Asiatic  peoples  that  had  throughout  Chinese 
history  been  pressing  in  from  the  frontiers. 
They  were  related  to  the  Mongols  and  to  the 
Kin  Tatars,  with  both  of  whom  we  have  be- 
come familiar  in  the  preceding  pages. 

67 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

The  Manchus  had  acquired  something  of 
Chinese  culture  and  had  cast  longing  eyes 
upon  the  great  land  to  the  south.  Under  an  able 
leader,  Nurhachu,  one  of  the  most  remark- 
able warrior-statesmen  Asia  has  produced, 
they  were  welded  together  into  an  efficient 
fighting  machine  and  in  the  first  half  of  the 
seventeenth  century  began  an  attack  upon  the 
Chinese  northeastern  frontiers.  In  the  course 
of  a  few  years  they  met  with  a  number  of 
striking  military  successes,  due  in  part  to  the 
inefficiency  of  the  Ming  generalship.  As  they 
continued  to  press  toward  the  south  a  rebellion 
in  China  gave  them  an  unexpected  opportunity 
and  placed  them  in  Peking.  This  rebellion  had 
broken  out  in  North  China,  and  taking  advan- 
tage of  the  weakness  and  misgovernment  of 
the  Mings  had  assumed  alarming  proportions. 
Its  leader  1  proclaimed  himself  emperor  and 
succeeded  in  capturing  Peking.  The  Ming 
emperor  in  despair  committed  suicide.  The 
Ming  forces  that  had  been  operating  against 
the  Manchus  now  found  themselves  between 
two  fires.  Led  by  their  general,  Wu  San  Kwei, 
they  submitted  to  their  foes  of  the  North,  and 
the  united  armies  of  the  Chinese  and  Man- 

1  Li  Tzu  Ch'eng. 
68 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

chus  marched  on  Peking.   The  Chinese  rebel 
was  defeated  and  his  forces  were  broken  up. 

The  Manchus  did  not  restore  the  Mings  to 
power.  They  placed  one  of  their  own  number 
upon  the  imperial  throne  (1644),  establish- 
ing what  they  called  the  "Ta  Ch'ing,"  or 
"Great  Pure"  dynasty.  The  nation,  however, 
did  not  submit  without  a  struggle.  Some  of 
the  Ming  imperial  line  had  fled  to  the  south 
of  the  Yangtze,  and  here,  defended  by  loyal 
generals,  they  attempted  to  stem  the  tide  of 
invasion.  The  effort  was  futile.  Divisions  and 
palace  intrigues  weakened  the  Ming  defense. 
The  Manchus  pressed  southward.  The  tide  of 
battle  flowed  back  and  forth.  The  carnage 
was  fearful;  the  sack  of  Yang  Chow  on  the 
Grand  Canal  by  the  Manchu  forces,  for  exam- 
ple, forms  one  of  the  most  ghastly  chapters 
of  history.  Resistance  was  stubborn.  The 
Mings  slowly  lost  ground,  until,  after  nearly 
two  decades,  the  last  of  the  line  to  claim  the 
throne  was  driven  into  Southwest  China  and 
then  into  Burma.  There  he  was  delivered  by  a 
Burmese  army  into  the  hands  of  the  victorious 
Manchus  and  the  last  remnants  of  Ming 
power  came  to  an  end.  On  the  sea,  from  the 

vantage-point  of  Formosa,  from  which  he  had 

69 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

driven  the  Dutch,  a  pirate  chief  *  kept  up  a 
gallant  opposition  for  a  few  years,  but  on  his 
death  resistance  from  even  that  quarter  broke 
down. 

The  Manchus  now  proceeded  to  organize 
the  government  in  such  a  way  as  to  insure  the 
permanence  of  their  rule.  The  Chinese  were 
held  as  subjects  and  were  made  to  adopt  the 
Manchu  method  of  dressing  the  hair  —  the 
shaved  forehead  and  the  queue  —  as  a  badge  of 
loyalty.  With  a  wise  statesmanship,  however, 
they  identified  themselves  with  the  Chinese  as 
far  as  that  seemed  consistent  with  their  role  of 
conquerors.  They  left  largely  unchanged  the 
system  of  administration  that  they  found  in 
operation.  In  the  higher  civil  positions  they 
associated  Chinese  with  themselves.  The  civil 
service  examinations  were  retained  practically 
unchanged.  Chinese  and  Manchus  were  ad- 
mitted to  them  and  to  all  but  the  highest  of- 
fices of  state  on  an  equal  footing.  The  legal  code 
of  the  Mings  was  adopted  with  but  slight  modi- 
fications, a  code  that  was  not  the  exclusive  work 
of  the  Mings,  but  had  been  the  growth  of  ages. 
Confucius  was  honored,  and  was  given  added 
titles  of  respect.  Buddhism  and  Taoism  were 

1  Koxinga. 
70 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

recognized,  and  Buddhism  especially  was  fos- 
tered. Chinese  literature  was  patronized  and 
the  Manchus  themselves  were  encouraged  to 
become  proficient  in  it.  Manchu  garrisons 
were,  however,  established  in  various  strategic 
places,  and  the  attempt  was  made  to  keep  up 
military  discipline.  In  the  course  of  a  few  dec- 
ades these  garrisons  suffered  the  inevitable 
effects  of  a  life  of  inactivity  supported  by  gov- 
ernment pensions.  Their  military  discipline 
declined  and  they  ceased  to  be  effective  as  a 
fighting  force.  In  1911,  when  the  revolution 
broke  out  that  ended  the  dynasty,  they  offered 
no  serious  opposition  to  the  Chinese  insurgents. 
The  first  century  and  a  half  of  Manchu  rule 
was  marked  by  vigor  and  efficiency.  The  pe- 
riod was  nearly  covered  by  two  reigns,  those 
of  K'ang  Hsi  (1662-1723)  and  Ch'ien  Lung 
(1736-1796),  one  sixty-one  and  the  other  sixty 
years  in  length.  These  two  monarchs  were 
among  the  strongest  that  the  nation  has  had. 
During  their  time  China  was  one  of  the  best- 
governed  lands  on  the  earth  and  was  second  to 
none  in  population  and  to  but  two  in  area. 
These  two  men  gave  an  impetus  to  the  dynasty 
that  was  to  carry  it  over  the  reigns  of  weaker 
rulers  down  into  the  twentieth  century.  We 

71 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

shall  proceed  to  sketch  the  history  of  this  cen- 
tury and  a  half  more  in  detail,  for  it  connects 
up  directly  with  the  present. 

The  period  was  marked  by  a  vigorous  home 
policy.  Rebellions  were  put  down  with  a  heavy 
hand.  The  most  serious  of  these  broke  out 
during  the  earlier  years  of  K'ang  Hsi,  headed  by 
the  Chinese  general,  Wu  San  Kwei,  who  had 
allied  himself  with  the  Manchus  when  they  had 
first  marched  on  Peking  and  who  greatly  facil- 
itated if  not  indeed  made  possible  their  suc- 
cess. This  king-maker  had  been  rewarded 
with  the  governorship  of  extensive  domains  in 
the  Southwest,  an  almost  semi-independent 
satrapy.  From  that  vantage-point  he  declined 
the  emperor's  invitation  to  come  to  Peking, 
sent  him  apparently  with  the  desire  to  curtail 
his  dangerous  power,  and  had  raised  the  stand- 
ard of  revolt.  The  rebellion  was  subdued  only 
after  the  greatest  exertions.  To  prevent  future 
rebellions  and  the  growth  of  feudatory,  semi- 
independent  states  within  the  empire,  the  pro- 
vincial governments  were  reorganized.  No 
official  was  allowed  to  hold  office  in  his  native 
province  and  the  higher  authority  in  each  prov- 
ince was  divided  among  several  offices  which 
were  carefully  arranged  to  check  and  balance 

72 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

one  another.  Other  rebellions  were  put  down 
with  an  equally  vigorous  hand.  Remnants  of 
non-Chinese  peoples  still  exist  within  the  bor- 
ders of  the  Eighteen  Provinces,  principally  in 
the  South  and  Southwest.  These  have  to  a 
large  extent  preserved  their  own  tribal  form  of 
government  and  their  own  languages.  Their 
territories  have  been  encroached  upon  by  the 
Chinese  only  slowly.  During  this  early  Man- 
chu  period  these  native  tribes  were  more  firmly 
reduced  to  submission  and  were  made  to  keep 
the  peace.  They  were  placed  as  far  as  possible 
under  the  direct  rule  of  the  central  government, 
but  complete  amalgamation  with  the  Chinese 
has  never  yet  been  effected. 

Great  attention  was  paid  personally  by  the 
emperors  to  the  details  of  administration. 
K'ang  Hsi  and  Ch'ien  Lung  were  noted  for 
frequent  progresses  through  their  dominions, 
and  for  their  attention  to  public  works,  es- 
pecially to  the  great  dikes  that  held  in  bounds 
the  Yellow  River  and  the  other  streams  of  the 
North.  Both  were  builders.  Temples  were 
erected  and  restored  and  imperial  tablets  show- 
ing the  interest  of  the  rulers  in  various  public 
enterprises  are  still  to  be  found  in  many  parts 

of  the  country.  By  the  careful  supervision  pos- 

73 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

sible  in  an  Oriental  monarchy  only  to  rulers 
of  unusual  endurance  and  energy,  the  wheels  of 
government  were  kept  in  motion,  justice  was 
done,  and  the  country  was  made  prosperous. 

Both  the  great  emperors  were  intelligent 
patrons  of  Chinese  culture.  Confucius  had 
never  been  more  generously  honored  than  by 
these  Manchus.  The  Sung  dynasty  philoso- 
phers —  especially  Chu  Hsi  —  were  revered 
and  their  commentaries  on  the  Classics  made 
the  official  interpretation  of  these  ancient  doc- 
uments. Chinese  scholarship  was  encouraged 
and  thus  bound  by  ties  of  loyalty  to  the  for- 
eign ruling  house.  Both  K'ang  Hsi  and  Ch'ien 
Lung  were  themselves  authors  of  no  mean 
ability  and  were  masters  of  Chinese  literature. 
Under  imperial  direction  scholars  compiled 
books  on  all  the  branches  of  learning  known 
to  the  nation.  Ancient  works  were  sought 
out  and  were  issued  in  imperial  revised  edi- 
tions. Great  encyclopaedias  were  prepared, 
and  a  dictionary  that  still  remains  standard.1 
It  was  not  a  period  of  creative  genius.  No 
important  new  schools  of  thought  arose.  It 
was,  however,  a  time  of  great  interest  in  all 
branches  of  culture.  Art  was  encouraged,  es- 

1  Known  as  "K'ang  Hsi's  Dictionary." 

74 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

pecially  work  in  porcelain,  in  brass,  and  in 
lacquer.  The  china  of  these  years  is  note- 
worthy and  is  still  eagerly  sought  by  collectors. 

These  vigorous  Manchu  emperors  were  in- 
terested in  everything  that  made  for  the  ma- 
terial prosperity  of  their  subjects.  Inter-pro- 
vincial trade  was  encouraged  by  improved 
roads.  Agriculture  was  stimulated  by  a  fixed 
low  tax  on  land  instead  of  one  subject  to  official 
caprice,  and  by  great  conservancy  works  of 
dikes  and  irrigation  systems.  Population  grew 
rapidly.  Increasing  prosperity  is  in  all  nations 
one  of  the  best  recommendations  for  the  ruling 
power,  and  especially  in  China  is  it  looked 
upon  as  an  indication  of  Heaven's  favor.  A  wise 
statesmanship  had  insured  for  the  Manchu 
power  a  much  longer  life  than  that  of  the  Mon- 
gols. 

The  period  was  marked  as  well  by  a  vigorous 
foreign  policy.  The  boundaries  of  the  empire 
were  carried  farther  than  ever  before.  Through 
all  Chinese  history,  it  will  be  recalled,  the  out- 
lying districts  of  Central  Asia  had  been  a  source 
of  frequent  invasions.  There  were  two  ways 
of  dealing  with  these.  One  was  to  meet  them 
at  the  borders  of  China  proper.  To  this  end 
the  Great  Wall  had  been  built  and  maintained. 

75 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

The  other  was  to  eliminate  the  danger  at  its 
source  by  conquering  the  invaders  in  their 
homes,  incorporating  them  into  the  empire, 
and  insisting  that  they  keep  the  peace.  It 
was  chiefly  the  latter  plan  that  the  Manchus 
adopted.  Manchuria,  as  the  home  of  the  dy- 
nasty, was  already  a  part  of  their  domain.  To 
the  west  of  Manchuria  lies  the  great  semi-arid 
region  known  as  Mongolia.  The  tribes  of  Inner 
Mongolia,  the  section  contiguous  to  China, 
had  early  submitted  to  Manchu  domination. 
Partly  through  voluntary  submission,  partly 
by  an  extensive  war  of  conquest,  Chinese  rule 
was  expanded  into  the  section  to  the  north, 
Outer  Mongolia. 

The  reduction  of  Mongolia  brought  China 
into  conflict  with  Tibet.  In  the  seventh  cen- 
tury this  region  had  been  converted  to  a  sect  of 
Buddhism,  and  its  priests  had  in  the  course  of 
centuries  become  the  temporal  as  well  as  the 
spiritual  rulers  of  the  land.  In  the  fifteenth 
century  this  Buddhist  sect  was  reformed  by  a 
vigorous  character 1  who  made  the  priesthood 
celibate  and  established  its  rule  over  the  coun- 
try more  firmly  than  ever,  in  a  form  that  has 
endured  until  the  present.  The  head  of  this 

1  Tsongkhaba,  born  1417. 
76 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

Tibetan  Buddhist  Church  is  known  as  the 
Dalai  Lama.  He  is  held  to  be  the  incarna- 
tion of  one  of  the  Buddhist  saints  (or  Bod- 
hisattvas),  and  at  the  death  of  one  Dalai 
Lama  the  spirit  is  believed  to  be  immediately 
reincarnated  in  another,  so  that  the  succes- 
sion is  perpetual.  Now  the  inhabitants  of 
Mongolia  were  at  this  time  adherents  of  this 
Lama  sect  of  Buddhism,  and  although  ruled 
directly  by  their  own  spiritual  chief,  the  Dalai 
Lama  was  so  closely  connected  with  them 
that  the  subjugation  of  Tibet  became  a  neces- 
sity if  peace  in  Mongolia  was  to  be  assured. 
K'ang  Hsi  soon  found  in  a  disputed  succession 
an  opportunity  for  interfering  in  the  internal 
affairs  of  Tibet,  and  in  the  interests  of  his 
candidate  invaded  the  country,  put  him  into 
power  at  Lhassa,  and  maintained  him  by  a 
garrison.  Tibet  thus  became  tributary  to 
China  and  has  remained  so  ever  since.  Prob- 
ably as  much  from  the  dictates  of  state  policy 
as  from  conviction  K'ang  Hsi  and  his  successors 
became  patrons  of  Lamaistic  Buddhism  and 
showed  it  great  favors. 

Most  of  Mongolia  and  Tibet  were  now  part 
of  the  Manchu  Empire.  It  became  necessary, 
however,  to  round  out  the  frontier  to  its  nat- 

77 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ural  boundaries,  the  great  divide  that  sepa- 
rates what  is  now  the  Chinese  Empire  from  the 
Russian  dominions  in  Western  and  Northern 
Asia.  The  principal  territory  still  unoccupied 
was  that  along  the  ancient  overland  caravan 
routes  to  the  West,  the  section  known  to  West- 
ern geographers  as  Chinese  Turkestan  and 
some  districts  north  of  it,  Hi  and  Dzungaria. 
Trouble  arose  in  Mongolia  over  the  presence 
of  independent,  restless  tribes  on  its  bound- 
aries, and  the  disturbance  became  at  once 
the  excuse  and  the  occasion  for  the  reduction 
of  these  territories.  By  a  series  of  campaigns, 
largely  under  Ch'ien  Lung,  they  were  con- 
quered and  annexed,  and  were  organized  into 
the  so-called  "New  Territory"  (Sin  Kiang). 
Except  on  the  north  the  Chinese  boundaries 
now  stretched  without  interruption  to  the 
continental  divide. 

Invasions  into  Tibet  by  the  peoples  of  the 
Himalaya  region  led  to  the  reduction  of  some 
of  the  hardy  mountaineers  that  occupy  the 
northern  borders  of  India.  So  thoroughly  were 
they  awed  that  they  sent  tribute  to  the  court 
of  Peking  until  brought  under  the  growing 
British  authority  in  India. 

In  the  southwest,  where  the  mountain  passes 
78 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

are  low  and  invite  intercourse,  troubles  arose 
with  Burma.  To  settle  them  Burma  was  in- 
vaded and  reduced  to  submission.  In  witness 
of  Chinese  suzerainty  it  sent  tribute  to  Peking 
every  ten  years,  a  practice  which  continued 
until  1886  when  it  was  ended  by  the  new  mas- 
ters of  Burma,  the  British. 

Annam  was  invaded,  and  that  country,  which 
had  been  part  of  the  Ming  domains,  was  com- 
pelled still  further  to  recognize  Chinese  over- 
lordship. 

These  vigorous  Manchu  emperors,  then,  had 
not  only  ruled  China  proper  well  and  with  jus- 
tice, but  they  had  extended  Chinese  territory 
to  its  natural  boundaries  and  had  made  the 
border  nations  feel  their  prowess  and  prom- 
ise to  keep  the  peace.  Under  no  preceding 
dynasty  had  the  population  been  so  large, 
prosperity  so  great,  or  had  the  well-defined 
boundaries  of  the  empire  extended  over  so 
wide  an  area. 

The  great  Manchu  emperors  were  as  vigor- 
ous in  their  dealings  with  Europeans  as  with 
the  peoples  of  Central  Asia.  Europeans,  it  will 
be  remembered,  had  begun  to  come  to  China 
by  sea  during  the  Ming  dynasty.  They  were 

now  increasing  in  number.    The  English,  in 

79 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

face  of  the  opposition  of  the  Portuguese,  began 
trade,  and  carried  it  on  under  the  direction  of 
that  British  East  India  Company  which  at 
this  time  held  a  monopoly  on  all  English  trade 
in  the  Far  East.  Other  European  nations 
opened  commerce.  The  chief  products  ex- 
ported were  tea,  fine  cottons,  silks,  and  china. 
The  chief  imports  were  opium  and  specie.  In 
1784  the  Americans  sent  their  first  ship  to 
China,  and  during  the  next  few  decades  their 
commerce  rose  to  fairly  large  proportions.  To 
obtain  furs  to  exchange  for  Chinese  products, 
American  vessels  went  to  the  northwest  coast 
of  America.  One  of  these  discovered  the 
mouth  of  the  Columbia  River.1  A  little  later 
an  American  merchant,  John  Jacob  Astor,  es- 
tablished at  the  mouth  of  that  river  a  fort, 
Astoria,  as  a  dep6t  from  which  to  ship  furs  to 
Canton.  Thus  arose  part  of  the  early  Ameri- 
can connections  with  the  Oregon  country  that 
were  later  to  lead  to  its  incorporation  into 
the  Union. 

The  Manchus  and  the  Northern  Chinese 
were  not  a  seafaring  people,  and  looked  with 
annoyance  on  these  active  Western  traders, 
some  of  whom  were  little  better  than  pirates. 

1  The  Columbia,  under  Captain  Grey. 
80 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

They  failed  completely  to  recognize  the  im- 
portance and  power  of  Western  nations  and 
thought  of  them  as  barbarians  inferior  in  civi- 
lization to  the  Chinese  and  tributary  to  them 
politically.  Since  at  times  these  caused  disor- 
der, and  since  their  trade  was  said  to  result  in  a 
balance  unfavorable  to  China,  and  to  drain  the 
land  of  its  specie,  they  finally  were  limited  in 
their  intercourse  to  one  port,  Canton.  Here 
commerce  was  carried  on  under  the  greatest 
restrictions.  Foreigners  were  not  allowed  to 
reside  within  the  city  wall,  and  even  outside  the 
wall  were  not  permitted  to  purchase,  but 
merely  to  rent,  ground  on  which  to  erect  their 
residences  or  "factories."  No  foreign  women 
were  allowed  on  the  premises.  All  trade  was 
carried  on  through  a  limited  body  of  merchants 
(the  "co-hong ") .  No  outsider  was  permitted  to 
learn  Chinese,  and  a  kind  of  lingua  franca  grew 
up,  called  by  Westerners  "pidgin  English." 
This  was  largely  made  up  of  English,  but  con- 
tained fragments  of  other  languages,  European 
and  Asiatic,  and  was  organized  according  to 
the  Chinese  idiom.  It  is  still  in  extensive  use. 
High  customs  duties  were  levied,  and  accord- 
ing to  no  published  schedule.  No  foreign  con- 
suls were  recognized,  although  some  were  sent, 

81 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

for  all  foreigners  were  treated  as  subjects  of  the 
emperor.  If  they  became  too  restive,  the 
Chinese  brought  them  to  terms  by  suspending 
all  trade. 

Amid  such  conditions  friction  between 
Chinese  and  Europeans  was  frequent  and  cer- 
tain. To  adjust  the  differences  and  to  seek 
greater  privileges,  embassies  were  sent  to  the 
imperial  court  by  various  powers,  especially 
the  English  and  the  Dutch.  These  were  all 
regarded  by  the  Chinese  as  bearers  of  tribute 
from  subject  nations,  a  sign  of  the  obedience  of 
European  monarchs  to  the  emperor,  the  "Son 
of  Heaven,"  and  but  little  was  accomplished 
by  them.  The  Chinese  power  was  as  yet  too 
strong,  communication  with  Europe  as  yet  too 
difficult,  and  trade  too  unimportant,  to  war- 
rant a  serious  armed  effort  to  wrest  better 
terms  from  China  or  to  open  her  to  foreign  rule. 
No  treaties  were  made. 

On  the  north  relations  were  opened  up  with 
Russia.  This  great  power,  half  Asiatic,  half 
European,  had  been  gradually  expanding 
across  Northern  Asia  until  in  the  seventeenth 
century  it  had  reached  the  Pacific.  It  was  one 
of  the  most  daring  pieces  of  pioneering  that 
has  ever  been  known,  for  thousands  of  miles  of 

82 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

wilderness  separated  these  eastern  outposts 
from  the  capital  of  the  Czar.  These  adventur- 
ous pioneers  came  into  contact  with  the  Chi- 
nese. Embassies  were  sent  to  Peking  and  from 
Peking  to  Moscow.  Trouble  over  boundaries 
arose  and  war  broke  out.  To  conclude  peace 
and  arrange  differences,  a  treaty  was  signed  in 
1689,1  the  first  between  China  and  a  European 
power.  Official  intercourse  was  continued  in- 
termittently and  overland  commerce  main- 
tained, a  commerce  in  which  Northern  furs 
were  exchanged  for  Southern  teas.  Supplemen- 
tary treaties  were  subsequently  made,  and  a 
Russian  mission  was  allowed  to  reside  at 
Peking.  But  it  was  not  as  equals  that  the  Rus- 
sians were  received.  They  were  rather  regarded 
as  another  of  those  Central  Asiatic  barba- 
rian tribes  who  had  troubled  the  empire  from 
time  to  time  and  with  whom  it  was  the  busi- 
ness of  Peking  to  maintain  friendly  relations. 
The  vigorous  foreign  policy  of  the  great 
Manchu  rulers  was  seen  as  well  in  their  treat- 
ment of  Christian  missionaries.  The  Jesuits,  it 
will  be  remembered,  had  entered  China  during 
the  Ming  dynasty,  and  had  won  some  con- 
verts. During  the  early  years  of  the  Manchus 
1  The  Treaty  of  Nerchinsk. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

they  were  in  favor  with  some  of  the  higher 
officials,  including  even  the  emperor.  They 
numbered  among  them  some  able  scholars 
who  continued  the  work  of  their  predecessors 
of  the  Ming  dynasty  in  reorganizing  the  im- 
perial calendar.  They  carried  on  geographic 
surveys  of  the  empire,  and  introduced  to  the 
court  a  fuller  knowledge  of  Western  learning. 
A  fairly  large  number  of  converts  was  won. 
Other  Catholic  missionary  orders  followed  the 
Jesuits,  and  came  to  differ  decidedly  from  their 
policy  of  allowing  Christian  converts  to  con- 
tinue certain  Chinese  customs  connected  with 
the  veneration  of  ancestors,  and  from  their 
translation  of  the  term  for  God.  The  dispute 
was  referred  both  to  the  emperor  and  to  Rome. 
The  two  differed  in  their  decisions.  The  em- 
peror was  angered,  and  fearing  that  loyalty  to 
Rome  might  lead  to  a  divided  allegiance  and  to 
possible  rebellion  among  converts,  he  pro- 
scribed Christianity.  Missionary  work  con- 
tinued, however,  although  semi-secretly  and 
subject  to  frequent  persecution. 

After  Ch'ien  Lung  inferior  men  came  to  the 
throne.  The  Manchu  race  began  to  suffer  from 
too  many  years  of  success,  and  its  vigor  de- 
clined. Outwardly  the  empire  was  as  brilliant 

81 


THE  HAN  DYNASTY  TO  1840 

as  ever,  but  inwardly  unrest  began  to  show  it- 
self. Secret  political  organizations  were  con- 
stituted in  opposition  to  the  dynasty.  Rebel- 
lions sprang  up,  some  of  them  difficult  to 
reduce,  and  disorder  arose  on  the  distant  fron- 
tiers. The  Manchu  power  was  manifestly 
waning.  During  this  period  began  a  more  ex- 
tensive growth  of  European  trade.  European 
impact  on  the  empire  increased.  The  irresisti- 
ble growth  of  the  pressure  of  Western  nations 
on  China  and  the  weakness  and  ignorance  of 
the  Chinese  authorities  led  to  a  series  of  mo- 
mentous events,  some  of  which  are  still  in 
progress.  But  before  going  on  to  sketch  the 
opening  of  China  to  Western  nations  and  the 
effect  upon  Chinese  culture,  it  is  well  to  pause 
for  a  time  and  to  find  out  what  that  Chinese 
culture  was. 


CHAPTER  IV 

CHINESE   CULTURE  AT   THE   BEGINNING   OF 
INTIMATE    CONTACT  WITH   THE   WEST 

IT  would  be  impractical  in  a  work  of  limited 
scope  to  attempt  a  full  description  of  Chinese 
culture  as  it  was  before  the  advent  of  European 
influence.  Such  a  description  can  be  found  in 
many  larger  works  primarily  devoted  to  the 
subject.  It  seems  in  place,  however,  to  point 
out  the  salient  characteristics  of  that  civiliza- 
tion. Present-day  events  and  problems  cannot 
be  understood  nor  the  changes  wrought  by 
contact  with  the  West  appreciated  without  a 
knowledge  of  the  older  Chinese  life.  The  new 
China  is  arising  out  of  the  old.  There  is  no 
break,  although  the  transition  is  very  marked. 
The  civilization  and  life  of  to-day  are  not  en- 
tirely products  of  the  present  age,  but  are 
bound  up  inseparably  with  the  past. 

The  primary  emphasis  in  Chinese  culture 
has  been  upon  the  materialistic.  The  Chinese 
have  been  primarily  interested  in  this  life, 
in  making  it  happy  and  comfortable.  They 
have  been  the  successful  merchants  of  the 

86 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

older  Far  East  and  have  carried  on  not  only 
their  own  commerce,  but  much  of  the  trade  in 
the  Philippines,  in  the  Straits  Settlements,  the 
Malay  States,  and  Siam.  They  are  successful 
farmers,  and  with  them  farmers  have  been 
ranked  high  in  the  social  scale,  far  above  the 
soldier  and  even  above  the  merchant,  for  the 
farmer  produces  food,  the  basis  of  life.  Their 
political  organization  has  had  as  its  primary 
aim  the  prosperity  of  the  people.  They  meas- 
ure the  success  of  any  government  by  the  ma- 
terial well-being  of  the  nation.  Continued  hard 
times  are  sufficient  to  cause  unrest  and  even 
revolution.  Their  ethics  emphasize  man's  duty 
to  man  rather  than  man's  duty  to  God.  Even 
their  religion  has  a  materialistic  bent.  They 
pay  their  religious  dues  as  a  rule  with  the  spe- 
cific purpose  of  getting  blessings  in  this  life  or  in 
the  life  to  come.  Their  worship  is  on  the  prin- 
ciple of  giving  that  they  may  get.  Their  offer- 
ings to  spirits  and  gods  are  principally  for  tem- 
poral success,  for  health,  for  children.  When 
they  think  of  the  world  to  come,  it  is  chiefly  as 
an  extension  of  this  life.  To  the  Chinese  this 
life  is  not,  as  to  the  Indian,  a  passing  shadow, 
but  a  reality.  They  have  not  willingly  in- 
dulged in  transcendental  speculation. 

87 


They  have  as  well  always  emphasized  soci- 
ety as  contrasted  with  the  individual.  The 
state  and  the  family  are  all-important.  The 
will  of  the  individual  is  subordinated  to  that  of 
the  group.  Learning  and  education  have  had 
as  their  final  aim  the  service  and  welfare  of 
society,  not  the  culture  of  the  individual  or  the 
knowledge  of  the  absolute.  The  Chinese  have 
emphasized  the  ethical  because  they  have  seen 
that  righteousness  is  essential  to  social  pros- 
perity. With  all  this  emphasis  on  the  practi- 
cal there  is  still  a  deep  strain  of  emotionalism 
which  shows  itself  in  a  real  appreciation  of  the 
beautiful  in  nature,  in  literature  and  in  art,  in 
a  love  of  poetry  and  music,  and  not  infre- 
quently in  mysticism.  But  the  Chinese  cannot 
be  said  to  be  primarily  religious  or  mystical  as 
are  so  many  of  the  peoples  of  the  Near  East 
and  of  India.  They  are  intent  rather  on  this 
life.  For  that  reason  they  fit  in  readily  with  the 
modern  industrialism  of  the  practical  West, 
and  adjust  themselves  easily  to  its  ideals. 
They  have  the  same  tendency  to  emphasize 
commerce  and  industry,  social  organization 
and  the  state.  Great  as  is  the  difference  be- 
tween the  old  China  and  the  new  Occident,  the 
distinction  is  rather  one  of  externals.  In  spirit 

88 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

the  Chinese  are  much  more  nearly  akin  to  the 
modern  West  than  they  are  to  many  sections 
of  the  East,  to  India,  for  instance,  or  even  to 
Japan. 

Another  general  feature  of  the  older  Chinese 
culture  that  should  be  borne  in  mind  is  the  fact 
that  it  is  indigenous.  Some  influences  we  have 
seen  coming  from  abroad  from  the  earliest 
times,  but  on  the  whole  Chinese  civilization 
is  a  native  product,  far  more  than  is  that  of 
Western  Europe.  This  was  due  primarily,  as 
has  already  been  said,  to  geographic  isolation. 
To  the  same  cause  we  have  seen  that  we  may 
trace  the  slowness  of  progress  in  civilization, 
and  the  feeling  of  self-satisfaction  and  of 
bigoted  contempt  for  the  culture  of  other 
peoples. 

One  last  general  comment  that  should  be 
made  is  that  the  older  Chinese  civilization  was 
not  decadent.  It  progressed  much  more  slowly 
than  did  culture  in  the  West,  and  in  its  later 
years  it  did  not  have  the  tendency  to  branch 
out  into  newer  creative  lines  that  it  had  shown 
in  its  earlier  years.  One  can,  however,  dis- 
tinctly trace  progress  from  dynasty  to  dy- 
nasty. Most  of  the  nineteenth  century  was 

one  of  comparative  stagnation,  but  that  was 

89 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

because  of  the  weakness  of  the  Manchus.  Stag- 
nation and  even  decline  had  been  characteris- 
tic of  the  later  years  of  most  of  the  great  dy- 
nasties of  China.  One  does  well  to  remember 
that  within  so  short  a  period  as  a  century  and 
a  half  ago,  when  the  Manchus  were  at  their 
height,  China  was  among  the  best-governed  and 
most  highly  civilized  nations  on  earth,  and 
that  its  reputation  in  the  West  was  such  that 
it  was  held  up  by  many  as  an  ideal  in  industry 
and  in  the  arts  of  living. 

Knowing  the  practical  nature  of  the  Chinese, 
one  is  not  surprised  at  the  development  of  the 
economic  side  of  their  life.  In  agriculture  they 
have  attained  a  high  state  of  proficiency.  Soil 
fertility  has  been  carefully  maintained,  partly 
by  methods  which  are  yet  to  be  used  in  the 
West.  The  night  soil,  for  instance,  which  is  so 
rich  in  nitrates  and  which  in  our  cities  of  the 
West  is  usually  allowed  to  run  to  waste  through 
our  sewers,  is  by  the  thrifty  Chinese  returned 
to  the  land  to  restore  the  strength  removed  by 
food  crops.  Careful  use  is  made  of  legumes,  of 
rotation  of  crops,  of  green  manuring,  and  of 
tillage.  Intensive  farming  is  carried  on  with  a 
care  and  a  success  scarcely  known  in  the  West. 
Many  varieties  of  grain  have  been  developed. 

90 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

Those  of  rice  alone  tax  the  memory  of  an  expert. 
The  more  costly  food  products  are  neglected  for 
the  less  expensive.  Thus  not  much  beef  or  mut- 
ton is  eaten,  for  the  raising  of  these  is  costly  in 
grain  and  pasture;  greater  food  values  from  a 
given  piece  of  land  are  obtained  by  feeding  the 
grain  directly  to  human  beings.  Milk  and  but- 
ter are  not  eaten,  possibly  originally  for  much 
the  same  reason.  Pigs  and  chickens  are  widely 
used  for  meat,  since  they  are  scavengers  and 
can  be  fed  on  what  otherwise  would  be  wasted. 
Fish  are  extensively  consumed  and  the  thrifty 
farmer  even  raises  them  in  his  temporary  ir- 
rigation ponds.  Bean  curd,  made  from  the  soy 
bean,  is  a  popular  cheap  substitute  for  meat. 
The  coolie,  with  his  rice  or  his  millet,  his  greens 
and  bean  curd,  supplemented  on  feast-days  by 
a  little  pork,  fowl,  or  fish,  has  an  inexpensive, 
well-balanced  food  ration.  Irrigation  is  highly 
developed,  and  extensive  dikes  have  been  built 
to  drain  low-lying  lands.  Many  works  have 
been  written  on  agriculture.  Much  of  this 
knowledge  was,  of  course,  empirical.  Little  of 
it  was  scientifically  organized.  It  was  de- 
veloped because  of  the  pressure  on  human  in- 
genuity brought  by  the  struggle  of  a  crowded 
population  for  existence.  There  have  been  a 

91 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

prodigal  expenditure  of  human  labor,  an  ab- 
sence of  labor-saving  machinery,  and  a  reck- 
less deforesting  of  the  hills  leading  to  impover- 
ished hillsides  and  to  flood  plains  covered  with 
debris.  In  spite  of  defects,  however,  the  system 
reflects  credit  on  the  intelligence  and  industry 
that  could  produce  it. 

Something  was  known  of  mining.  The  im- 
mense deposits  of  coal  and  petroleum  were  but 
little  used,  but  some  of  the  metals  were  mined, 
including  especially  iron,  copper,  and  silver. 
Salt  wells  were  drilled,  and  natural  gas  was 
utilized  to  evaporate  the  brine. 

In  manufactures  China  had  not,  of  course, 
developed  modern  labor-saving  machinery,  the 
application  of  steam  or  electricity  to  ma- 
chinery, or  the  factory  system.  In  these  pro- 
cesses she  had  not  passed  the  industrial  level 
of  the  Europe  of  the  later  Middle  Ages.  Man- 
ufactures were  in  households  and  small  shops. 
Human  labor  was  used  lavishly.  Industry 
tended  to  be  localized.  Certain  sections  were 
noted  for  crockery,  others  for  furniture,  others 
for  silks,  and  still  others  for  cottons.  Within 
individual  cities  industries  were  grouped  by 
streets,  much  as  in  mediaeval  Europe.  They 
were  organized,  too,  in  guilds  with  an  elaborate 

92 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

apprentice  system.  There  were  ingenious 
mechanical  devices,  and  one  does  well  to  re- 
member that  the  invention  in  China  of  the 
mariner's  compass  and  of  printing  antedate 
their  use  in  the  Occident.  The  system  of  pro- 
duction was  probably  as  efficient  as  any  to 
be  found  in  the  West  before  the  Industrial 
Revolution. 

The  Chinese  have  developed  an  elaborate 
system  for  distributing  and  marketing  the 
products  of  the  fields,  the  mines,  and  industry. 
The  streams  are  largely  navigable,  and  many 
types  of  craft  have  been  developed  for  river 
use,  from  the  great  junk  of  the  ocean  and  the 
lower  Yangtze  to  the  small  boat  that  threads 
the  shallow  tributary  streams.  Canals  and 
canalized  rivers  have  been  used  to  supplement 
the  streams.  Water  conveyance  of  heavy,  non- 
perishable  freight,  including  grains,  it  is  well 
to  remember,  is  less  expensive  than  land  con- 
veyance, even  by  steam.  The  water  systems 
were  supplemented  by  roads,  some  of  which 
were  admirable  when  kept  in  repair  by  vig- 
orous monarchs.  Vehicles  were  clumsy  and 
labor-consuming,  however,  a  crude  cart  being 
used  in  the  North  and  the  wheelbarrow  in  the 
South.  Famines  often  occurred  in  one  prov- 

93 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ince  because  grain  could  not  be  carried  in 
quantity  from  a  neighboring  province  where 
plenty  abounded.  The  transportation  system 
of  China,  however,  compared  favorably  with 
that  of  the  Europe  before  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury. It  helped  to  bind  the  country  together 
into  an  economic  whole. 

Commerce  has  been  highly  organized.  Chi- 
nese merchants  are  among  the  most  skillful 
in  the  world,  and  not  only  have  they  con- 
ducted the  business  of  their  own  vast  empire, 
but  they  have  had  a  large  share  in  the  com- 
merce of  all  the  Farther  East.  The  Chinese 
seems  to  be  a  trader  almost  by  nature.  The 
older  commercial  organization,  however,  was 
formed  almost  entirely  on  the  guild  and  the 
partnership  system.  The  modern  stock  com- 
pany was  unknown.  Guilds  existed  for  every 
kind  of  enterprise,  and  the  student  of  the 
Western  mediaeval  guild  system  can  even  yet 
see  a  similar  one  in  operation  in  China.  Mer- 
chants of  one  province  residing  in  another  have 
their  guild.  Each  kind  of  trade  and  each  in- 
dustry is  organized  into  one.  The  guild  gave 
the  protection  to  its  members  that  the  gov- 
ernment did  not  give  and  regulated  each  trade 
and  each  branch  of  commerce  with  great 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

strictness.  Apprenticeship,  prices,  and  wages 
were  very  largely  determined  by  them.  Like 
their  European  counterparts  each  usually 
had  its  shrine  and  its  patron  divinity.  In 
the  individual  shop  the  organization  has  been 
usually  by  partnership,  not  by  the  joint-stock 
company.  That  modern  method  of  facilitating 
great  combinations  of  capital  under  the  super- 
vision of  a  directorate  was  unknown,  and  ex- 
cept for  the  guild,  business  was  usually  divided 
into  small  units.  A  partial  exception  was  a  sys- 
tem of  banking  centering  in  one  of  the  prov- 
inces of  the  North,1  with  branches  in  most  of 
the  principal  cities  of  the  empire.  Even  this, 
however,  was  not  a  joint-stock  concern. 

The  currency  system  was  clumsy.  The 
familiar  round  copper  "cash"  with  the  square 
hole  in  the  center  was  the  unit  of  exchange  for 
all  smaller  transactions  of  daily  life.  As  it 
takes  between  twenty-five  hundred  and  three 
thousand  of  these  to  equal  in  value  a  gold  dol- 
lar, they  could  manifestly  be  used,  even  for 
smaller  transactions,  only  because  the  price 
level  was  very  low.  Wages  for  unskilled  labor 
were  but  a  few  cents  a  day  and  prices  were 
scaled  accordingly.  For  transactions  involving 

1  Shansi. 
95 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

larger  amounts  the  unit  was  the  ounce  of  silver, 
called  the  "tael."  Silver  was  not  coined,  but 
was  usually  cast  by  private  firms  into  small 
ingots.  In  every  transaction  these  were  tested 
for  fineness  and  weighed.  The  ounce  (or  tael) 
was  different  in  various  districts,  as  were,  in- 
deed, most  of  the  weights  and  measures.  At 
times  China  has  had  paper  money  issued  by 
the  government,  but  her  experience  with  it 
has  not  been  entirely  satisfactory.  It  has  too 
frequently  been  based  on  an  inadequate  metal 
reserve,  and  depreciation  has  followed  with  all 
the  attendant  evils  of  speculation,  uncertainty, 
and  loss. 

Credit  was  and  is  extensively  used.  Pawn- 
shops are  universal,  and  are  a  much  more  rep- 
utable means  of  borrowing  and  loaning  than 
is  apt  to  be  the  case  with  similar  institutions  in 
the  West.  A  highly  organized  banking  system 
is  in  existence.  Voluntary  loan  associations  of 
various  kinds  for  various  purposes  and  of  vary- 
ing amounts  of  capital  are  common.  In  these, 
several  men  will  band  together,  each  contribut- 
ing an  equal  share,  and  each  having  the  use  of 
the  entire  capital  for  a  given  period. 

On  the  whole,  then,  the  Chinese  economic 
system  has  been  efficient.  By  it  the  nation  was 

96 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

bound  together  into  an  economic  unit.  Great 
cities  arose,  ever  the  sign  of  high  economic 
development.  It  was,  however,  a  very  dif- 
ferent system  from  that  which  has  arisen  in  the 
West  from  the  Industrial  Revolution.  Now 
that  the  latter  has  invaded  China,  the  effect, 
as  we  shall  see  in  later  chapters,  has  been 
revolutionary  and  for  the  time  being  demor- 
alizing. 

The  political  organization  of  China  was 
highly  developed.  No  other  surviving  one  can 
show  a  so  nearly  continuous  history  stretching 
over  so  many  centuries.  In  ideal  it  was  pri- 
marily for  the  people.  It  existed  to  secure  and 
to  further  their  welfare.  Its  objects  were  pri- 
marily the  well-being  of  the  entire  nation.  The 
ruler  existed  for  the  people,  not  the  people  for 
the  ruler.  The  military  was  supposedly  used 
merely  for  defensive  and  policing  purposes. 
Although  the  army  has  always  played  an  im- 
portant part  in  Chinese  history,  and  although 
dynasties  have  invariably  owed  their  founda- 
tion to  successful  generals,  the  soldier  has  not 
been  exalted  as  highly  as  in  Japan  and  the  Oc- 
cident. He  has  been  regarded  as  a  destroyer  of 
life  and  property  and  has  been  ranked  among 
the  lowest  classes  of  society.  The  producer  and 

97 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

the  creative  thinker,  the  scholar,  were  ranked 
above  him. 

The  practical  turn  of  the  Chinese  mind,  with 
its  emphasis  upon  physical  well-being,  is  clearly 
seen  throughout  the  political  constitution.  At 
the  head  was  the  emperor.  One  of  his  titles 
was  "Son  of  Heaven."  The  theory,  however, 
was  far  removed  from  that  of  the  divine  right 
of  kings  of  Western  absolutists.  The  decree  of 
Heaven  was  supposed  to  be  given  primarily 
with  the  good  of  the  people  in  mind,  and  if  the 
emperor  failed  to  rule  them  justly  or  if  he 
neglected  their  prosperity  and  gave  himself  to 
selfish  luxury,  the  theory  regarded  with  com- 
placency rebellion  and  the  foundation  of  a  new 
dynasty.  It  justified  that  succession  of  royal 
houses  which  is  so  characteristic  of  Chinese 
history.  The  authority  of  the  emperor  was  ab- 
solute. He  was  the  fountain  of  law,  of  justice, 
and  of  administration,  and  his  word  was  final. 
The  institution  was  paternalistic,  and  the  em- 
peror took  in  theory,  and,  if  an  able  ruler,  in 
practice,  an  interest  in  every  detail  of  national 
life. 

The  emperor  ruled,  however,  by  means  of  a 
bureaucracy.  One  man  could  not  hope,  of 
course,  to  attend  to  all  the  details  of  govern- 

98 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

ment  and  his  power  was  delegated  to  subor- 
dinates in  a  carefully  worked-out,  descending 
scale.  At  the  top  were  the  court  officials ;  there 
was  the  council  of  state;  there  were  central 
boards  in  charge  of  military  affairs,  the  judici- 
ary, public  works,  and  various  other  branches 
of  administrative,  judicial,  and  legislative  ac- 
tivity; there  was  a  board  of  censors,  charged 
to  speak  fearlessly  its  criticisms  of  the  gov- 
ernment; there  were  official  historiographers 
whose  duty  it  was  to  record  impartially  public 
events  and  the  acts  of  the  emperor. 

Below  these  central  bodies  the  system  rami- 
fied through  the  empire.  There  were  viceroys, 
usually  at  the  head  of  two  provinces.  In  the 
province  the  central  power  was  shared  by  the 
governor,  the  treasurer,  the  salt  commissioner, 
the  commissioner  of  education,  and  the  pro- 
vincial judge.  These  acted  as  checks  on  one 
another  and  so  made  sedition  difficult.  Under- 
neath the  provincial  authorities  were  the  offi- 
cials of  another  series  of  divisions  and  sub- 
divisions, heads  of  circuits,  of  counties,  of 
districts.  All  of  these  were  appointed  from 
the  capital,  and  under  the  Manchus  no  official 
could  hold  office  in  his  own  province.  Rebel- 
lion and  the  growth  of  local  independence  and 

99 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

decentralization,  always  the  danger  of  so  large 
a  state,  were  thus  guarded  against. 

This  immense  official  class  was  recruited  by 
a  series  of  civil  service  examinations,  to  which 
all  but  members  of  a  few  despised  occupations 
were  eligible,  regardless  of  birth  or  station.  In 
theory  the  emperor  was  to  govern  with  the  aid 
of  the  wisest  and  the  ablest  of  the  realm.  Was 
not  the  government  for  the  benefit  of  all,  and 
should  not  the  wisest  and  ablest  be  searched 
out  to  aid  in  it?  These  examinations,  then,  with 
their  three  successive  grades  and  degrees,  were 
for  the  purpose  of  selecting  the  best  men  in 
the  empire.  They  were  based  primarily  on  the 
ancient  Classics  and  had  mostly  to  do  with 
ethics,  history,  and  statecraft.  Too  frequently 
they  were  stereotyped  and  encouraged  literary 
style  and  memory  at  the  expense  of  independ- 
ent creative  thinking.  Too  often  corruption 
crept  in,  and  literary  degrees  were  sold  to  meet 
the  necessities  of  the  state  and  of  dishonest 
officials.  On  the  whole,  however,  they  were 
fairly  efficient  and  surprisingly  democratic. 
They  brought  into  competition  for  government 
positions  and  into  official  service  most  of  the 
highly  trained  minds  of  the  nation.  Sons  of  the 
humblest  might  rise  to  the  highest  positions. 

100 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

On  even  rude  farmhouses  in  out-of-the-way 
districts  one  might  see  displayed  characters 
indicating  that  some  relative  of  the  occupant 
had  won  a  degree.  Thanks  to  this  system 
China  was  largely  freed  from  a  ruling  caste 
that  owed  its  power  to  hereditary  right.  No 
other  part  of  the  constitution  so  contributed 
to  the  continuance  and  the  efficiency  of  the 
government. 

Underneath  the  bureaucracy  were  the  vil- 
lage elders  and  the  heads  of  families,  a  humble 
but  a  no  less  important  part  of  the  govern- 
ment. The  village  was  in  many  respects  self- 
governing,  and  family  control  was  universal 
and  strong.  Guilds  exercised  many  of  the 
powers  of  regulation  over  trade  and  industry 
which  in  most  other  countries  have  fallen  to 
the  government.  The  central  government  was 
a  policing  and  tax-gathering  agency.  It  gave 
coherence  to  the  country  and  provided  for  the 
common  defense,  but  in  local,  and  especially 
in  rural  and  village,  administration,  the  nation 
was  largely  self-governing  with  a  strong  tend- 
ency to  democracy. 

There  was  a  carefully  organized  code  of  laws, 
reissued  and  amended  by  each  dynasty,  but 
representing  the  growth  of  ages  of  experience 

101 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

and  legislation.  Justice  was  too  frequently 
bought  and  sold  and  many  of  the  punishments 
seem  to  us  inhuman.  The  theory  of  justice 
was  there,  however,  and  long-established  prec- 
edent for  reliance  on  and  respect  for  law. 

Measured  by  modern  standards  taxation  was 
not  heavy.  It  consisted  principally  of  a  land 
tax  and  the  income  from  the  manufacture  and 
sale  of  salt,  a  government  monopoly.  It  was 
collected  partly  in  kind.  Occasionally  duties 
on  internal  commerce  were  levied.  The  ex- 
penses of  the  state  of  the  ancient  type  were  not 
large  when  compared  with  those  of  the  modern 
one. 

There  were  a  number  of  general  character- 
istics of  the  government  that  need  to  be  noted. 
In  the  first  place,  there  was  no  permanent  rul- 
ing house  dating  back  to  the  foundation  of  the 
nation,  as  in  Japan.  There  the  imperial  house 
is  popularly  believed  to  have  endured  from 
ages  eternal.  It  furnishes  a  tangible  center 
and  object  for  patriotic  devotion  and  loyalty. 
Amid  all  the  changes  of  government  it  remains 
unchanged.  It  adjusts  itself  readily  to  the 
modern  constitutional  form  of  government. 
Revolution  means  a  change  in  ministries,  not  a 


102 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

change  in  dynasties.  In  China,  however,  there 
is  no  traditional  center  for  national  loyalty. 
There  have  been  many  ruling  houses.  One  dis- 
appears and  another  arises,  usually  out  of  a 
welter  of  civil  war.  This,  in  an  age  of  transi- 
tion like  the  present,  makes  the  situation 
peculiarly  difficult.  Without  such  an  heredi- 
tary, time-honored  center  of  coherence,  strong 
men  are  apt  to  seize  in  turn  the  central  power 
as  emperor  or  president,  and  civil  war  and  dis- 
integration are  likely  to  follow. 

There  is,  however,  a  real  stability  in  the 
centralized  bureaucracy.  It  is  the  slow  prod- 
uct of  all  the  long  centuries  of  China's  national 
life.  It  is  something  around  which  the  new 
China  can  be  formed,  and  it  is  not  likely  that 
it  will  soon  be  abandoned  whether  the  govern- 
ment be  called  a  republic  or  a  monarchy.  It 
forms  a  convenient  framework  for  a  modern 
centralized  constitution.  Then,  too,  the  lack 
of  a  permanent  dynasty  is  paralleled  by  a  high 
development  of  democratic  autonomy  in  the 
clan,  the  guild,  and  the  village,  which,  if  the 
individual  can  be  brought  to  think  in  terms  of 
the  larger  unit,  are  an  excellent  preparation 
for  national  democracy. 

Another  characteristic  of  the  government 
103 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

has  been  its  paternal  interest  in  every  phase  of 
the  life  of  its  members.  It  did  not  content  it- 
self with  the  duties  of  police  and  defense,  but 
it  encouraged  trade,  industry,  agriculture,  and 
learning.  In  ideals  it  is  nearly  akin  to  modern 
conceptions  of  governments  with  their  exten- 
sive and  varied  functions.  One  does  not  won- 
der that  several  times  in  its  history  it  has  pro- 
duced socialistic  thinkers,  or  that  many  of  its 
leaders  should  to-day  incline  toward  socialism. 
And  yet,  while  interested  in  all  phases  of  na- 
tional life,  it  also  practiced  the  principle  of 
laissez-faire.  It  left  much  to  individual  initia- 
tive and  in  local  affairs  the  village  was  largely 
autonomous. 

Still  another  characteristic  of  the  govern- 
ment, not  exclusively  Chinese,  by  the  way, 
has  been  the  failure  to  realize  in  practice  the 
high  ideals  held  in  theory.  Corruption  was  rife, 
especially  during  the  declining  years  of  each 
dynasty.  Offices  were  bought  and  sold.  Offi- 
cials used  their  positions  avowedly  to  acquire 
fortunes  by  means  that  were  so  familiar  to 
the  populace  as  scarcely  to  call  forth  more 
than  formal  censure.  The  system  was  honey- 
combed with  dishonesty  and  greed.  Legal  de- 
cisions went  to  the  longest  pocket-book.  Here 

104 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

and  there  high-minded  officials  stood  out 
against  the  tide,  but  only  an  unusually  able 
monarch  could  enforce  a  fair  degree  of  integ- 
rity throughout  the  nation. 

Another  characteristic  was  a  lack  of  nation- 
alism such  as  one  finds  in  Japan.  There  was 
racial  consciousness  and  pride,  but  there  was 
little  if  any  of  that  patriotism  that  leads  men 
to  die  for  their  country.  Loyalty  when  it  ex- 
isted was  to  princes  or  generals  and  not  to 
the  nation.  One  part  of  the  empire  might  be 
at  war  and  another  part  be  indifferent  or  even 
be  aiding  the  enemy.  This  lack  of  national 
coherence  was  in  strange  contrast  to  the  cen- 
tralized bureaucracy.  It  was  scarcely  surpris- 
ing, however,  in  so  large  a  land  in  the  absence 
of  modern  distance-annihilating  agencies;  it 
is  strange  rather  that  there  was  so  much  co- 
herence. But  the  lack  of  unity  was  seen  and  is 
still  seen  in  the  deep-seated  inter-provincial 
and  inter-village  jealousies,  and  in  the  subor- 
dination of  national  to  local  interests.  It  is 
especially  apparent  in  the  division  between 
North  and  South,  the  dividing  line  being 
roughly  the  Yangtze  River.  It  is  a  division 
that  is  in  part  linguistic,  in  part  economic,  in 
part  traditional,  and  even  in  part  racial.  This 

105 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

lack  of  unity  was  not  so  grave  a  defect  in  the 
old  days  when  China  was  not  in  intimate  com- 
petition with  highly  organized  states.  The  sys- 
tem was  in  fact  well  adapted  to  existing  condi- 
tions, for  probably  by  no  other  plan  could  so 
large  an  area  have  been  held  permanently  to- 
gether without  the  aid  of  modern  means  of 
communication.  It  has  been,  however,  an  al- 
most fatal  weakness  in  the  contest  with  modern 
highly  organized  states,  such  as  Japan  and  the 
nations  of  Europe.  As  long  as  it  exists  only 
the  mutual  jealousies  of  the  powers  can  save 
the  nation  from  loss  of  independence  and  even 
dismemberment.  It  accounts  partly  for  the 
partial  dependence  and  loss  of  autonomy  of 
the  present  time.  Fortunately,  in  the  old  bu- 
reaucratic machinery  there  is  a  skeleton  at 
hand  on  which  to  build  the  reconstructed  na- 
tion. 

In  spite  of  weaknesses,  however,  the  govern- 
mental organization  has  proved  sufficient  for 
the  main  needs  of  the  people.  For  centuries, 
although  with  many  and  frequently  long  inter- 
ruptions, it  has  held  together  an  area  as  large, 
roughly  speaking,  as  Western  Europe  or  the 
United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi.  At  four 
different  intervals  it  has  for  a  century  or  more 

106 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

at  a  time  controlled  as  imperial  territory  ad- 
ditional lands,  Manchuria,  Mongolia,  Tibet, 
and  the  New  Territory,  that  are  together 
nearly  twice  the  size  of  China  proper.  It  has 
done  this  without  the  aid  of  telegraphs,  rail- 
ways, or  the  other  means  of  communication 
that  bind  together  the  great  states  of  to-day. 
When  we  remember  that  without  these  aids 
Western  Europe  divided  into  separate  nations, 
and  that  only  their  timely  discovery  prevented 
the  United  States  from  doing  likewise,  when  we 
remember  that  the  Chinese  Empire  is  larger  in 
area  and  population  than  any  empire  of  antiq- 
uity, not  even  excepting  that  of  Rome,  our  re- 
spect is  enhanced  for  its  constitution  and  for 
the  ability  of  the  people  that  could  produce  it. 
And  when  we  compare  China  with  other  states,' 
we  must  say  that  on  the  whole  its  great  realms 
have  been  governed  well.  Corruption  and  in- 
efficiency there  have  been,  but  these  have  also 
existed  elsewhere.  Until  the  last  few  hundred 
years  there  existed  no  large  state,  probably, 
which  was  governed  with  less  injustice  and 
with  more  efficiency  and  economy. 

The  formal  educational  system  of  China,  as 
we  have  hinted  above,  was  in  part  an  adjunct 
of  the  state.  It  was  devised  primarily  to  pro- 

107 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

vide  officials.  The  bureaucracy  was  the  one 
learned  profession  and  naturally  attracted 
much  of  the  best  intellect  of  the  nation.  In  fact 
as  well  as  in  theory  the  ablest  and  the  best- 
trained  men  were  drawn  to  give  themselves  to 
the  task  of  government.  The  keenness  of  com- 
petition in  the  civil -service  examinations  can 
scarcely  be  realized  by  Westerners.  The  height 
of  the  ambition  of  every  self-respecting  fam- 
ily was  to  have  sons  who  had  achieved  an 
entrance  into  the  charmed  circle  of  learned 
officialdom.  And  yet  in  education  direct 
government  supervision  began  only  with  the 
examination.  Primary  education  and  the 
preparation  of  candidates  for  the  examinations 
were  left  entirely  in  private  hands.  After  the 
student  had  passed  the  examinations  there  were 
a  few  state-aided  colleges  where,  if  he  were 
fortunate,  he  might  study.  The  government 
often  encouraged  or  directly  undertook  through 
the  Imperial  Academy  l  extensive  literary  ef- 
forts, such  as  new  editions  or  collections  of 
famous  works,  encyclopaedias,  and  dictionaries. 
But  the  preliminary  steps  to  the  examinations 
it  did  not  supervise  nor  aid.  The  result  was 
that  formal  education  had  as  its  aim  the  pass- 

1  Han  Lin. 
108 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

ing  of  examinations.  No  attempt  was  made  to 
encourage  the  pupil  to  think  for  himself,  or  to 
develop  him  for  his  own  sake.  His  memory  was 
crammed  with  texts  and  their  official  commen- 
taries, and  he  was  trained  in  a  narrow  groove 
of  literary  expression  and  style.  Only  a  very 
small  proportion  of  the  candidates  ever  reached 
the  coveted  goal  and  the  rest  became  poorly 
paid  clerks,  or  recruited  the  ranks  of  the  school- 
teachers. The  best  products  of  the  system 
furnished  fine  examples  of  minds  splendidly 
drilled  on  narrow  but  exacting  classical  lines. 
The  system  illustrated  at  once  the  best  and 
the  worst  effects  of  a  training  for  examinations 
carried  to  its  logical  conclusion. 

The  evils  were  many  and  obvious.  The  edu- 
cation of  women  was  neglected.  The  great 
mass  of  the  men  were  illiterate.  Only  about 
one  in  twenty  could  read,  and  for  most  of  even 
these  favored  few  literacy  meant  the  use  of 
the  few  characters  needed  in  a  special  trade. 
Among  the  educated  independent  thinking  was 
sacrificed  for  memory,  style,  and  calligraphy. 
An  unreasoning  conservatism  inevitably  fol- 
lowed. 

There  were,  however,  some  good  results. 
A  premium  was  placed  on  learning,  and  the 

109 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ideal  maintained  that  the  best  talent  should 
be  given  to  the  use  of  society  as  represented 
by  the  body  politic.  National  cohesion  was 
promoted  by  the  resulting  unity  in  language 
and  literature.  To  the  system  China  is  in- 
debted for  much  that  is  best  in  her  culture. 
The  test  of  social  usefulness  was  applied  to 
scholarship  and  it  was  a  natural  if  not  a  read- 
ily taken  step  to  the  practical  and  technical 
education  of  the  modern  Occident. 

The  Chinese  written  language  and  litera- 
ture on  which  this  education  was  based  were 
highly  developed,  as  would  naturally  be  the 
case  when  so  much  able  attention  had  been 
concentrated  on  them.  The  written  charac- 
ters have  a  varied  origin.  The  earliest  were, 
as  with  all  peoples,  attempts  to  picture  natural 
objects.  Thus,  the  mouth  was  y ,  the  modern 
fl(.  To  speak  was  a  mouth  with  a  tongue  in  it, 
(^,  to-day  p^|.  The  moon  was  J),  to-day 
written  ^.  A  tree  was  fa  (to-day  written 
-fa)  representing  the  branches  and  roots  and 
ground.  The  sun  was  Q,  to-day  written  EJ. 
A  man  was  /^,  a  creature  of  two  legs.  A  child, 
or  a  son,  was  fy,  a  crude  picture  of  an  infant, 
to-day  written  ~f.  A  sheep  was  ^p,  a  ram 
with  its  horns  prominent,  to-day  written  ^. 

110 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

A  little  later  an  attempt  was  made  to  pic- 
ture ideas  by  combining  characters.  Thus 
east  was  jj^,  the  sun,  Q,  rising  behind  a  tree,  /fc, 
for  when  the  earliest  Chinese,  an  inland  peo- 
ple, looked  toward  the  dawn  they  saw  a  forest 
between  it  and  them.  The  verb  "to  sit,"^, 
was  represented  by  two  men  ( A  A )  seated  on 
the  ground  (  jt),  a  common  posture  in  China. 
The  verb  "  to  be  born,"  "  to  bear,"  "  to  begin," 
is  ^£,  originally  ^£,  a  sprout  ("/~)  proceeding 
out  of  the  ground  ( j^ ).  Bright  was  0$,  a  com- 
bination of  the  sun  (Q)  and  the  moon  (ft). 

In  the  spoken  Chinese  several  ideas  are 
frequently  represented  by  the  same  sound, 
the  context  or  a  combination  with  a  synonym 
determining  the  meaning.  In  the  beginnings 
of  the  written  language,  there  would  be  a 
written  character  to  represent  one  idea  and 
none  to  represent  another  idea  expressed  in 
the  vernacular  by  the  same  sound.  It  was 
quite  a  natural  step,  then,  to  write  both  words 
by  the  same  character.  Thus  ^jT  originally 
represented  a  spoken  word  "fang"  meaning 
"square."  It  was  later  used  to  represent  the 
idea  of  a  "locality"  or  "place"  which  had  the 
same  sound  "fang"  in  the  vernacular  but  was 
not  represented  by  a  written  character.  Still 

111 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

later,  to  avoid  confusion,  when  the  character 
was  used  to  mean  locality  there  was  added  the 
character  meaning  earth,  Jt,  and  the  charac- 
ter $fi  resulted.  So  jj  ("fang")  still  meant 
"square"  and  j^  ("fang")  meant  a  "place." 
Thus  by  combining  a  character  indicating  the 
sound  with  another  indicating  the  idea,  one 
obtained  a  new  compound  character,  and  the 
phonetic  element  was  introduced  into  the  writ- 
ten language.  This  method  has  been  exten- 
sively employed  until  to-day  the  majority  of 
written  signs  or  characters  belong  to  this  class. 
The  part  of  the  character  indicating  the  sound 
has  been  designated  the  phonetic  and  the  part 
indicating  the  meaning  the  radical.  Thus  the 
character  j^J  is  pronounced  fu,  and  by  itself 
is  an  adverb  of  negation  meaning  "no,"  or 
"not."  Combined  as  a  phonetic  with  the 
radical  I J  meaning  knife,  it  becomes  $}l],  a 
character  used  to  write  another  word  pro- 
nounced fu  and  meaning  "to  cut,"  or  "to 
hew."  The  same  phonetic  combined  with  the 
character  £)  meaning  "  mouth,"  becomes  Pjlfj 
and  is  used  to  express  the  word  pronounced 
fu,  meaning  "to  oppose,"  "to  refuse."  The 
same  phonetic  written  with  the  radical  -H< 

meaning  "grass"  (an  abbreviated  form  for  ^f1* 

112 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

originally  written  ^"f%  a  picture  of  grass)  be- 
comes ^jj  and  represents  a  word  fu  which 
means  "luxuriant."  The  same  phonetic  writ- 
ten with  the  radical  //^  meaning  "heart"  (also 
written  <£jy,  once  written  \^,  a  rude  picture 
of  the  heart  and  its  ventricles)  becomes  4$ 
and  represents  a  spoken  word  fu,  meaning 
"  sorry,"  "  anxious,"  or  "  excited."  Written  with 
the  radical  for  "hand"  "f  (originally  a  picture 
of  the  hand  if)  the  same  phonetic  forms  the 
character  ^  representing  the  word  fu  that 
means  "  to  shake  off,"  or  "to  wave  to  and  fro." 
One  ought  to  add,  however,  that  some  of  the 
combinations  are  by  no  means  as  simple  as  the 
above.  Most  dictionaries  of  the  written  lan- 
guage are  now  arranged  either  by  radicals  or 
phonetics.  There  are  according  to  the  stand- 
ard list,  two  hundred  and  fourteen  radicals,  a 
list  that  most  foreign  students  of  the  language 
learn  early. 

The  written  language  composed  of  these 
characters  is  condensed  in  its  expressions  and 
highly  developed.  It  appeals  to  the  eye  rather 
than  to  the  ear,  and  few  scholars  can  under- 
stand it  when  read  aloud  unless  they  are  fa- 
miliar with  the  passage  or  can  see  it.  It  was 
originally  developed  when  writing  was  a 

113 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

cumbersome  process  and  done  with  clumsy 
instruments.  It  was  hence  produced  in  as 
condensed  a  form  as  possible  and  probably 
never,  unless  at  its  earliest  beginnings,  ex- 
actly reproduced  the  spoken  language.  After 
instruments  of  writing  improved  and  the  char- 
acters were  simplified,  the  same  condensed 
form  was  continued.  The  centuries  of  effort 
by  scholars  of  taste  and  intellect  have  resulted 
in  a  written  language  notable  for  its  richness 
of  expression  and  its  niceties  of  meaning.  In 
the  hands  of  a  master  it  becomes  a  rare  vehicle 
for  the  expression  of  thought.  New  combina- 
tions of  characters  are  readily  produced  to 
express  new  ideas.  The  language  is  remark- 
ably adjustable  to  such  changes  in  thought  as 
are  taking  place  to-day  and  to  the  new  ideas 
and  new  objects  that  are  coming  in  from  the 
West. 

The  written  language  thus  developed  has  had 
and  to-day  still  has  many  advantageous  fea- 
tures. In  addition  to  its  richness  and  its  flexi- 
bility, it  is  a  tie  which  binds  the  different  parts 
of  the  empire  together.  The  vernacular  de- 
velops dialects  so  different  that  they  are  mu- 
tually almost  unintelligible,  but  the  written 
language  is  the  same  throughout  the  empire; 

114 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

scholars  who  cannot  understand  each  other's 
speech  can  still  read  the  same  books  and  com- 
municate by  writing.  The  local  pronuncia- 
tions of  the  characters  differ,  but  the  written 
language  appeals  to  the  eye  rather  than  to  the 
ear,  and  hence  is  independent  of  the  variations 
in  dialect  that  are  certain  to  develop  in  a  land 
as  large  as  China  when  communication  is  as 
difficult  as  it  has  been.  It  is  an  element  of 
unity  which  has  had  no  small  part  in  holding 
the  nation  together.  The  written  language  was 
taken  over  by  the  Japanese  and  is  used  by 
them  to-day  with  modifications,  although  their 
spoken  language  is  very  different  indeed  from 
that  of  China.  As  a  result  Japanese  students 
study  Chinese  much  as  American  college  stu- 
dents of  the  last  generation  studied  Latin,  and 
Chinese  can  learn  to  read  Japanese  with  but 
little  effort.  Many  new  terms  have  been  taken 
over  bodily  in  recent  years  from  Japan  where 
they  were  coined  by  combining  Chinese  char- 
acters to  express  new  ideas  from  the  West. 

The  written  language  has  its  weaknesses, 
however.  The  labor  of  learning  the  characters 
is  far  greater  than  that  of  learning  even  the 
illogical  spelling  of  the  English  written  lan- 
guage. It  consumes  much  time  which  with  a 

115 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

phonetic  alphabet  could  be  used  to  advantage 
elsewhere.  It  promotes  illiteracy  and  adds 
difficulty  to  the  task  of  primary  education. 
The  form  of  the  written  language,  removed  as 
it  is  from  the  vernacular,  is  still  another  burden 
for  the  student.  Even  the  Chinese  must  learn 
it  almost  as  he  would  another  closely  related 
language,  so  different  is  it  from  the  vernacular 
in  its  rules  of  composition,  its  style,  and  even 
its  vocabulary.  It  adds  to  the  difficulty  of  edu- 
cation and  of  communicating  ideas  to  the  mass 
of  the  people.  Extensive  education  in  the 
knowledge  derived  from  the  written  page  has 
thus  been  the  privilege  of  a  comparative  few, 
and  a  difficult  task  even  for  them.  The  mere 
labor  of  memory  and  of  the  development  of 
form  and  style  has  helped  to  divert  the  em- 
phasis from  the  thought  to  the  means  of  ex- 
pressing that  thought,  and  has  been  an  ob- 
stacle to  independent  thinking. 

The  spoken  language  resembles  closely  in  its 
structure  the  written  language.  It  is  mono- 
syllabic in  nature.  There  is  but  little  inflection 
and  what  little  there  is  is  done  largely  by  the 
addition  of  particles.  It  is  very  poor  in  separate 
sounds.  No  more  than  nine  hundred  are  in 
use  in  any  one  part  of  the  empire,  and  in  some 

116 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

sections  the  number  is  half  that.  This  means 
confusion.  Thus  the  word  represented  in 
Roman  letters  as  "Hsi"  (pronounced  like  the 
English  "she")  represents  several  scores  of 
different  things  or  ideas.  Among  others  it  may 
mean  "west,"  or  "few,"  or  "to  draw  in  the 
breath,"  or  "old,"  or  the  interrogative  "why," 
or  "to  write,"  "to  dry,"  "a  mat,"  or  "the 
neighing  of  a  horse."  To  prevent  confusion  a 
number  of  devices  are  in  use.  The  meaning 
may  be  indicated  by  the  context,  as  is  the 
case  in  English  with  "  bear  "  (the  verb), "  bear  " 
(the  noun),  and  "bare"  (the  adjective).  The 
meaning  is  also  made  clear  by  combining  words 
in  pairs.  Sometimes  this  is  done  by  repetition, 
sometimes  by  the  use  of  two  words  of  nearly 
synonymous  meaning.  Another  device  is  a 
system  of  tones.  Each  syllable  may  be  pro- 
nounced in  a  number  of  tones,  —  in  the  North 
four,  in  the  South  as  many  as  nine  or  more; 
the  tone  is  inseparable  from  the  word.  Thus 
the  syllable  "fu,"  when  pronounced  in  one 
tone  means  "not";  in  another,  "rich";  in  an- 
other, "corrupt";  and  in  still  another,  "to 
store  up." l 

1  The  systems  now  in  use  by  Westerners  for  representing 
Chinese  by  Roman  letters  are  numerous  and  are  mostly  con- 

117 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

The  spoken  language  has  developed  a  num- 
ber of  different  dialects.  These  are  often  mu- 
tually unintelligible,  but  they  have  the  same 
root  stock,  as,  for  instance,  have  English  and 
German.  Through  the  North  of  China  and 
most  of  the  Yangtze  Valley  the  dialects  are 
sufficiently  alike  to  be  mutually  intelligible, 
and  differ  but  little  more  than  do  the  dialects 
of  English.  This  Northern  group  of  dialects  is 
usually  called  by  foreigners  the  mandarin,  or 
official  language,  because  one  of  its  forms  is  the 
language  of  Peking  and  of  the  court.  Along  the 
coast  from  Shanghai  southward,  and  in  the 
Southern  provinces,  however,  the  dialects  dif- 
fer greatly  both  from  the  mandarin  and  from 
each  other.  A  native  of  Canton,  for  example, 
cannot  understand  a  native  of  Shanghai  or 
Peking.  He  can  much  more  readily  learn  the 
dialects  of  these  places  than  can  a  European, 

fusing  and  unscientific.  Because  it  is  the  one  in  widest  use  the 
Wade  system  is  followed  as  a  rule  in  this  book.  The  vowels 
are  given  their  European,  not  their  English  value.  The  con- 
sonants ch,  t,  k,  ts,  and  p,  when  followed  by  the  inverted  apos- 
trophe, have  their  English  value.  When  not  followed  by  it,  ch 
has  approximately  the  value  of  the  English  j,  toid,k  of  hard 
g,  ts  of  "ds,  and  p  of  6.  Thus  Taoism  is  more  like  the  English 
"Dowism."  A  few  names,  such  as  Confucius  and  Mencius, 
and  prominent  geographical  names,  such  as  Canton,  Hankow, 
and  Peking,  do  not  follow  the  system  accurately,  and  hw  is 
used  for  Wade's  hu,  as  being  less  confusing. 

118 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

however,  since  the  structure  is  essentially  the 
same.  This  diversity  is  an  obstacle  to  national 
union  and  helps  to  keep  the  different  sections 
of  the  empire  apart. 

The  spoken  language  of  China  can  be,  and 
at  the  present  time  is,  frequently  represented 
by  the  characters,  but  the  great  mass  of 
Chinese  literature  is  in  the  written  language. 
This  literature  is  very  voluminous  and  espe- 
cially rich  in  ethics,  philosophy,  history,  and 
poetry,  although  religion,  science,  mathemat- 
ics, drama,  and  the  novel  are  all  represented. 
The  great  mass  of  the  literature  has  been  pro- 
duced by  the  scholarly  official  class,  and  the 
outlook  of  that  class,  as  we  have  seen,  is  es- 
sentially that  of  the  cultured  statesman.  The 
emphasis  has  consequently  been  on  ethics,  his- 
tory, and  philosophy,  on  poetry,  and  on  essays 
noted  as  much  for  their  style  as  for  their 
subject-matter.  The  so-called  "practical" 
branches  of  mathematics,  astronomy,  medi- 
cine, agriculture,  science,  and  pseudo-science 
are  also  represented.  Many  of  the  works  are 
voluminous.  One  set  of  official  histories  alone, 
for  instance,  occupies  in  an  ordinary  edition 
some  seventy  octavo  volumes.  Dramas  and 
novels  exist,  but  are  usually  not  in  the  best 

119 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

literary  style  and  do  not  compare  favorably 
with  similar  works  in  the  West.  Religion  is 
largely  represented  by  Buddhist  and  Taoist 
books,  but  only  part  of  these  appeal  in  their 
style  to  the  Chinese  scholar  of  taste.  The 
most  prominent  works  are  the  so-called  "Clas- 
sics," which  have  been  previously  described.1 
The  classical  literature  of  the  Chinese  is  nota- 
ble for  the  loftiness  of  its  moral  tone  and  for  its 
beauty  of  style.  In  these  characteristics  it  is 
not  greatly  inferior  to  some  of  the  best  that  the 
West  has  produced. 

The  invention  of  printing  in  China  antedates 
its  invention  in  the  West,  and  books  have  for 
centuries  been  cheaply  produced  and  widely 
distributed.  Only  the  very  poorest  could  plead 
poverty  as  an  excuse  for  being  without  them. 

Literature  as  well  as  learning  has  been  held 
in  the  highest  esteem.  The  written  characters 
are  sacred  and  are  not  to  be  put  to  ignoble  uses. 
The  paper  on  which  they  are  printed  is  care- 
fully collected  from  places  where  it  might  be 
trampled,  and  is  burned.  Incinerators  for  this 
purpose  are  placed  along  the  streets  by  char- 
itably disposed  persons. 

Chinese  art  and  literature  fit  in  naturally 

1  See  above,  p.  25. 
120 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

with  each  other,  for  the  most  highly  developed 
form  of  art  has  been  painting,  and  the  great 
painters  have  frequently  been  poets  as  well. 
Then,  too,  the  writing  instrument  is  the  brush 
pen  and  calligraphy  in  itself  is  a  fine  art.  Skill- 
ful penmen  have  national  reputations.  The 
best  paintings  have  in  them  the  emotional 
touch  of  the  poet  and  the  penman's  emphasis 
of  line.  The  artist  has  endeavored  to  put  into 
his  landscape  or  his  portrait  the  spirit  back  of 
the  originals  rather  than  to  reproduce  them 
exactly,  and  to  do  it  largely  by  lines  rather 
than  by  an  exact  reproduction.  Perspective 
and  an  adherence  to  nature  seem  to  the  West- 
erner to  be  lacking,  but  the  best  examples  can- 
not but  appeal  to  him  as  the  work  of  masters. 

Architecture  and  sculpture  have  not  had  the 
attention  that  has  been  paid  them  in  Europe 
and  have  not  risen  to  the  heights  reached  by 
painting.  There  has  been  some  admirable 
statuary  produced,  largely  in  connection  with 
Buddhist  shrines,  and  the  sweep  of  the  Chinese 
roof  is  in  some  temples  a  thing  of  beauty. 
Metal-work,  lacquer,  and  porcelain  have  at 
times  risen  from  the  level  of  the  handicraft  to 
that  of  art. 

Chinese  art  has  shown  many  foreign  influ- 
121 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ences,  some  of  them  Greek,  some  of  them  In- 
dian, and  other  and  earlier  ones  possibly  from 
the  islands  of  the  Pacific.  Its  highest  develop- 
ment was  under  the  T'ang  and  the  Sung.  Ex- 
cept possibly  in  porcelain  and  metal  nothing 
has  been  produced  for  some  centuries  that  is 
worthy  to  be  compared  with  the  achievements 
of  these  dynasties. 

In  her  religious  life  China  has  as  a  rule  been 
tolerant.  Various  faiths  exist  side  by  side  and 
live  in  comparative  peace  with  one  another. 
Many  times  there  have  been  persecutions  and 
often  the  government  has  frowned  on  cer- 
tain sects,  once  in  a  long  while  Confucian- 
ism, but  more  often  Buddhism,  Taoism,  or 
Christianity.  But  there  have  never  been  the 
religious  wars  that  have  marked  the  Near  East 
and  the  West,  and  the  average  Chinese  is  at 
once  an  animist,  a  Confucianist,  a  Buddhist, 
and  a  Taoist  without  any  sense  of  inconsist- 
ency. His  ethics  are  Confucian  or  Buddhist; 
he  calls  in  Buddhist  or  Taoist  priests  at  critical 
times  of  illness  or  burial;  and  he  honors  the 
manes  of  his  ancestors,  propitiates  evil  spirits, 
and  seeks  blessings  from  beneficent  ones.  Only 
Mohammedanism  and  Christianity  deny  to 
their  followers  the  privilege  of  eclecticism. 

122 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

Underlying  all  organized  faiths  is  animism, 
a  belief  in  spirits  or  invisible  essences.  This 
seems  to  have  been  the  primitive  religion  of 
China.  It  is  for  the  great  mass  of  the  ignorant 
dominant  to-day.  To  the  average  Chinese  the 
air  and  the  earth  and  natural  objects  are  in- 
habited by  spirits,  some  of  them  beneficent, 
more  of  them  evil.  Spirits  are  the  cause  of 
disease  and  misfortune  and  must  be  avoided  or 
propitiated.  Shrines  are  erected  throughout 
the  countryside  and  in  the  cities.  By  any  road- 
side one  may  see  one,  usually  with  a  tree  grow- 
ing over  it.  In  one  of  the  provincial  capitals  an 
ancient  gun  that  did  good  service  in  the  T'ai 
P'ing  Rebellion  was  thought  to  be  the  abode 
of  a  mighty  spirit,  and  written  prayers  were 
posted  on  it  and  incense  offered.  In  many 
cities  at  the  point  where  one  street  ends  in  an- 
other, a  stone  is  placed  declaring  itself  in  large 
characters  to  be  from  the  sacred  mountain, 
T'ai  Shan  (although  it  is  but  infrequently 
genuine).  It  is  a  warning  to  spirits  to  go  back 
the  way  they  came.  The  merchant  can  be  seen 
at  the  opening  or  closing  of  the  day  burning 
incense  sticks  at  his  shop  door.  The  worship 
of  ancestors  is  almost  universal.  To  the  aver- 
age Chinese  their  spirits  have  power  to  harm  or 

123 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

to  bless  the  living.  They  are  represented  to 
him  by  tablets,  in  his  home  and  in  the  an- 
cestral hall.  Before  these  offerings  are  made. 
The  spirits  are  honored  at  the  graves  by  food, 
and  by  paper  houses  and  paper  money  for  use 
in  the  world  beyond.  To  some  of  the  edu- 
cated the  honor  paid  to  ancestors  may  be  but 
little  if  at  all  different  in  motive  from  that 
given  at  the  grave  in  Western  lands:  one  uses 
food,  the  other  flowers.  To  the  great  mass  of 
the  nation,  however,  the  honor  becomes  wor- 
ship and  is  expected  to  obtain  blessings  and  to 
avert  calamity. 

Closely  allied  to  animism  is  the  so-called 
"feng  shui,"  or  doctrine  of  "wind  and  water." 
Its  basis  is  a  belief  in  lucky  and  unlucky  spots. 
The  earth  and  the  air  are  supposed  to  be  filled 
with  good  and  evil  influences,  and  these  must 
be  taken  into  consideration  before  the  site  of 
any  building  is  chosen,  or  any  grave  is  located, 
or  a  city  begun.  A  profession  numbering  many 
thousands  has  arisen  to  determine  such  spots. 
This  doctrine  of  wind  and  water  has  made  diffi- 
culty for  railways,  because  railway  cuts,  be- 
sides desecrating  graves,  disturb  the  config- 
uration of  the  land.  Telegraph  poles  were  at 
times  objected  to.  The  erection  of  pagodas 

124 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

outside  of  the  cities  has  been  partly  to  insure 
good  influences. 

Somewhat  similar  is  the  belief  in  lucky  and 
unlucky  days  and  omens.  No  betrothal  is 
properly  constituted  before  the  horoscopes  of 
the  contracting  parties  are  determined.  There 
are  lucky  and  unlucky  days  for  beginning 
journeys  and  business  undertakings. 

The  three  great  formal  religions  of  China  are 
Taoism,  Buddhism,  and  Confucianism.  It  will 
be  remembered  that  Taoism  began  during  the 
Chou  dynasty  as  an  ultra-mystical,  quietistic 
faith.  Its  obscure  statements  of  belief  could 
never  be  comprehended  by  the  masses,  and 
by  its  philosophy  it  was  naturally  limited  in 
scope  to  the  few  mystical  souls  who  found 
themselves  spiritually  akin  to  its  founder. 
During  the  later  years  of  the  Chou,  however, 
and  during  the  short-lived  Ch'in,  it  became 
primarily  a  search  for  the  elixir  of  life  as  a 
means  to  physical  immortality.  Other  super- 
stitions crept  in  as  time  went  on,  and  in  recent 
centuries  the  chief  function  of  the  Taoist  priest 
has  been  the  exorcism  of  the  demons  that  have 
so  prominent  a  place  in  the  Chinese  imagina- 
tion as  the  cause  of  disease,  death,  and  mis- 
fortune. Taoism  has  copied  extensively  from 

125 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Buddhism.  Its  temples  were  originally  built 
largely  under  the  stimulus  of  competition.  Its 
priesthood  and  its  ceremonies  have  come  to 
resemble  that  of  the  foreign  faith,  and  it  has  in 
imitation  of  its  rival  created  a  pantheon.  It 
talks  of  a  western  heaven  in  imitation  of  the 
Buddhist  paradise.  It  seems,  however,  at  the 
present  time  to  lack  any  real  appeal  to  the 
higher  spiritual  side  of  man's  nature,  and 
caters  almost  entirely  to  the  crass  superstition 
of  the  mass  of  the  people. 

Buddhism  has  been  in  a  somewhat  better 
ethical  and  spiritual  condition.  It  has  held  up 
before  the  nation  the  ideal  of  a  moral  life  with 
heaven  as  a  reward  and  hell  as  a  punishment. 
Some  of  the  pictures  of  hell  in  its  temples  vie  in 
their  horror  with  the  conceptions  of  mediaeval 
Europe.  It  has  introduced  terms  and  ideas 
into  the  Chinese  language  that  are  of  use  in 
expressing  some  of  the  highest  religious  con- 
ceptions known  to  man.  Many  sects  have 
grown  up  within  it  around  religious  leaders  of 
moral  and  mystical  insight,  and  it  has  been  the 
main  channel  through  which  earnest  souls  have 
sought  satisfaction  for  their  spiritual  longings. 

Chinese  Buddhism  differs  very  widely  from 
primitive  Buddhism,  and  seems  to  have  ap- 

126 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

propriated  many  elements  from  other  faiths  as 
well  as  to  have  undergone  extensive  modifica- 
tions from  within.  Primitive  Indian  Buddhism 
early  developed  different  forms  as  it  spread 
northward  and  southward.  The  northern 
form *  existed  and  appears  to  have  had  its  ori- 
gin mainly  in  Central  Asia,  and  since  early 
Buddhist  missionaries  to  China  came  largely 
from  this  direction,  it  predominates  in  China. 
But  the  southern  form,2  the  type  that  to-day 
predominates  in  Ceylon,  Burma,  and  Siam,  has 
also  had  some  influence,  and  in  both  types 
the  Chinese  themselves  have  modified  exten- 
sively the  faith  as  brought  them  from  abroad. 
In  many  respects  Chinese  Buddhism  closely 
resembles,  in  ceremonies,  doctrine,  priest- 
hood, and  organization,  the  Eastern  Christian 
churches,  although  no  one  has  yet  determined 
with  certainty  whether  the  elements  they  hold 
in  common  were  borrowed  by  Buddhism  from 
Christianity,  or  by  Christianity  from  Bud- 
dhism, or  were  derived  by  both  from  a  common 
source.  The  similarity  is  so  striking  that  early 
Catholic  missionaries  referred  it  piously  to  the 
work  of  the  Devil.  There  are  monasteries,  with 

1  Called  "Mahayana,"  or  the  "Greater  Vehicle." 

2  Called  "Hinayana,"  or  the  "Lesser  Vehicle." 

127 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

nuns  and  monks.  The  ritual  bears  a  superficial 
resemblance  to  that  of  some  Christian  bodies. 
There  is  a  doctrine  of  salvation  by  vicarious 
suffering,  and  there  are  other  teachings  that 
are  strangely  like  the  Christian.  Some  schol- 
ars have  referred  the  similarities  in  part  to 
contact  with  Nestorian  Christianity,  a  divi- 
sion of  the  Eastern  Church  that  is  known  to 
have  been  widespread  in  Central  Asia  during 
the  European  Middle  Ages.  Pilgrimages  to  sa- 
cred mountains,  which  are  partly  Buddhist 
in  their  origin,  are  in  great  vogue  and  remind 
one  again  of  mediaeval  Europe. 

In  spite  of  its  elements  of  life,  Chinese  Bud- 
dhism has  been  largely  formal  and  superstitious. 
The  mass  of  the  priesthood  has  been  ignorant 
and  even  vicious.  It  has  ceased,  on  the  whole, 
to  be  able  to  read  comprehendingly  the  sacred 
books  or  to  understand  the  liturgy  of  the  serv- 
ice. To  all  but  a  few  the  higher  doctrines  of  the 
faith  have  been  meaningless  and  the  religious 
life  has  been  a  matter  of  blind  routine  and 
a  means  of  livelihood.  Lay  adherents  have 
principally  been  women  and  children. 

In  Chinese  the  term  corresponding  to  "Con- 
fucianism" is  "the  teaching  of  the  learned." 

There  has  been  much  dispute  as  to  whether  it 

128 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

is  a  religion.  Although  discounted  by  many 
Chinese  thinkers  there  are  certainly  religious 
elements  in  it.  The  worship  of  ancestors  is  an 
integral  part  of  it,  and  the  imperial  sacrifices 
at  the  imposing  Temple  of  Heaven  in  Peking 
also  belong  with  it.  Confucius  himself,  as  the 
greatest  teacher  of  the  sect,  gradually  passed 
through  a  process  of  deification  until  the  Man- 
chu  dynasty  in  its  last  years  completed  the 
apotheosis  by  declaring  him  to  be  "the  Equal 
of  Heaven  and  Earth."  Official  temples  have 
been  erected  to  him  in  the  chief  cities,  and 
official  sacrifices  offered  at  stated  times.  He 
and  his  disciples  are  represented  in  these 
temples  by  tablets  and  form  a  kind  of  pan- 
theon. 

Confucianism,  however,  has  placed  its  chief 
emphasis  upon  the  moral  rather  than  the  reli- 
gious. It  has  represented  the  ethical,  philo- 
sophical, and  religious  reaction  of  the  learned 
upon  the  facts  of  life  and  of  the  universe.  It 
has,  consequently,  lacked  much  of  the  gross 
superstition  of  the  masses  and  at  times  has 
been  skeptical  on  religious  matters.  Since  the 
training  of  the  scholar  had  official  position 
primarily  in  view,  Confucianism  has  looked  on 
ethics  from  the  standpoint  of  the  state  and  of 

129 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

society.  It  has,  as  is  the  usual  way  with  official 
cults,  been  a  conservative  force  and  a  bulwark 
of  the  existing  order.  It  has  presented  to  the 
nation  an  unusually  lofty  ethical  standard. 
The  five  cardinal  virtues  of  Confucius  were 
kindness,  rectitude,  decorum,  wisdom,  and 
sincerity,  and  in  his  rule,  "What  you  do  not 
like  yourself,  do  not  do  to  others,"  one  recog- 
nizes a  parallel  to  the  golden  rule  of  Jesus.  It 
is  doubtful  whether  a  higher  moral  standard 
than  that  of  the  Confucian  school  is  to  be  found 
outside  the  Christian  Bible.  The  system,  while 
it  was  worked  out  primarily  by  the  learned, 
was  meant  for  the  entire  nation  and  has  pro- 
foundly influenced  it.  The  so-called  "Sacred 
Edict,"  for  instance,  which  as  finally  developed 
was  an  attempt  by  the  Manchu  emperors  to 
present  in  popular  form  a  comprehensive  sys- 
tem of  ethics,  was  in  reality  largely  a  summary 
of  the  Confucian  teachings  as  interpreted  by 
the  Sung  philosophers.  "The  teaching  of  the 
learned  "  —  like  Japanese  Bushido,  "  the  way 
of  the  warrior,"  and  European  "chivalry,"  the 
ethical  code  of  the  knight  —  has  become  the 
moral  ideal  of  the  great  mass  of  the  nation. 
Mohammedanism  has  existed  in  China  for 

some  centuries,  and  to-day  has  several  million 

130 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

adherents.  They  are  in  part  descendants  of 
foreign  immigrants  who  have  intermarried  so 
extensively  with  the  Chinese,  that  usually  the 
racial  difference  between  them  and  the  pure 
natives  is  not  noticeable.  They  are  to  be  found 
mostly  in  the  northwest  and  southwest  sec- 
tions of  the  empire,  although  they  exist  in 
smaller  numbers  in  practically  every  province. 
Islam  has  not  been  in  China  a  proselyting 
faith,  and  its  members  seem  to  have  had  only 
infrequent  communication  with  the  rest  of  the 
Moslem  world. 

Of  Christianity  mention  has  been  made 
above  and  its  further  progress  will  be  chroni- 
cled later. 

In  the  social  organization  the  emphasis  has 
been  laid  on  the  family  rather  than  on  the  in- 
dividual. The  family  means  not  only  the  father 
and  mother  and  the  children,  but  the  larger 
circle  of  blood  relationship.  Large  sections  of 
the  family  frequently  live  together,  and  in 
some  districts  whole  villages  are  made  up  of 
one  clan  group.  The  immediate  ancestors  are 
represented  by  tablets  in  the  home  and  the 
remote  ancestors  by  tablets  in  the  ancestral 
hall  of  the  family  clan.  The  sons  marry  early, 

usually  before  they  are  able  to  support  house- 

131 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

holds  of  their  own.  They  bring  their  wives 
to  the  paternal  home  and  stay  there  even  after 
the  children  come,  so  that  one  will  often  find 
several  generations  living  together  under  the 
same  roof  tree. 

Great  emphasis  has  been  placed  on  family 
solidarity.  Of  the  "  five  relationships  "  familiar 
to  every  schoolboy,  within  which  are  supposed 
to  be  summed  up  the  duties  of  man  to  his  fel- 
lows, three  have  to  do  with  the  family.  These 
are  the  relationship  between  husband  and  wife, 
between  younger  brother  and  older  brother, 
and  between  father  and  son.1  The  basis  of 
much  of  the  national  ethics  has  been  duty  to 
parents  rather  than  duty  to  God.  If  a  man 
indulges  in  dissipation,  he  sins,  not  because  he 
has  defiled  the  temple  of  God,  but  because  he 
has  injured  the  body  transmitted  to  him  by 
his  ancestors.  He  is  to  serve  his  parents  during 
their  life,  and  after  their  death  to  sacrifice  to 
their  spirits.  Ancestral  worship  thus  becomes  a 
part  of  his  mental  background  and  of  his  daily 
life.  No  crime  is  considered  greater  than  to  die 
without  leaving  sons  to  perpetuate  the  name 
of  the  ancestors  and  to  honor  their  spirits. 

1  The  other  two  are  the  relationships  between  prince  and 
minister  and  friend  and  friend. 

132 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

The  family  has  acted  as  a  unit  far  more  than 
in  the  West.  It  usually  centers  around  the  an- 
cestral hall,  which  is  often  endowed.  It  fre- 
quently provides  for  the  education  of  its  chil- 
dren, especially  of  the  more  promising.  It  looks 
after  its  indigent  members  and  its  aged,  and 
often  after  the  family  graves.  The  state  rec- 
ognized family  solidarity  by  holding  the  theory 
of  joint  responsibility.  The  penalty  for  murder 
was  inflicted  not  only  on  the  individual  culprit, 
but  on  his  relatives  as  well,  with  a  severity 
nicely  adjusted  to  the  degree  of  relationship. 
Even  distant  cousins  might  be  punished  if  the 
offense  of  the  culprit  was  particularly  heinous. 
The  morals  of  the  entire  family  must  be  im- 
perfect, it  was  argued,  if  one  of  its  members 
was  guilty  of  crime.  Given  the  family  system, 
this  was  not  an  altogether  unjust  deduction. 

This  family  solidarity  has  many  points  of 
strength.  It  is  a  preventive  of  a  too  hurried 
departure  from  the  past.  It  furnishes  a  mo- 
tive for  and  makes  possible  the  preservation  of 
excellent  moral  standards  and  restraints  and  is 
an  aid  to  government.  China's  high  ethical 
system  and  her  persistent  adherence  to  it  dur- 
ing the  centuries,  in  theory  and  often  in  prac- 
tice, have  to  no  small  degree  been  the  result  of 

133 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

her  emphasis  on  the  family.  The  duty  of  leav- 
ing descendants  was  a  fortunate  provision  for 
the  endurance  of  the  race  in  an  age  when 
pestilence,  war,  and  famine  kept  up  the  death- 
rate.  The  loyalty  to  the  family  has  certain 
potential  points  of  national  strength.  If  the 
unity  of  the  smaller  group  could  be  expanded 
in  its  scope  until  it  became  national,  patriot- 
ism and  national  solidarity  would  be  greatly 
strengthened.  This  development  has  been 
long  delayed,  but  it  may  now  be  at  hand. 

On  the  other  hand,  this  family  system  has 
had  certain  grave  defects.  It  has  hindered  ini- 
tiative. It  has  been  extremely  hard  for  the  in- 
dividual to  break  away  from  the  dead  hand  of 
the  past.  All  the  pressure  of  the  traditional 
moral  code  and  of  the  family  group  has  tended 
to  subordinate  the  will  of  one  to  the  will  of  all, 
to  discourage  departure  from  the  ways  of  the 
fathers.  That  is  perhaps  one  reason  why  China 
has  found  it  so  difficult  to  discover  leaders  in 
recent  years.  There  have  been  but  few  men  in 
the  past  century  who  have  stood  out  suffi- 
ciently from  the  mass  to  command  the  respect 
and  adherence  of  the  nation.  Even  some  of 
the  few  who  have  emerged  have  been  lacking 

in  the  moral  courage  required  for  persistent 

134 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

independent  action.  Reforms  are  started  amid 
enthusiasm,  and  great  programmes  of  local  or 
national  reorganization  are  mapped  out.  But 
even  more  frequently  than  in  the  West,  these 
are  apt  to  be  dropped  before  permanent  results 
have  been  achieved. 

This  dearth  of  political  leadership  and  con- 
stancy may  be  due  in  part  to  the  size  of  the 
nation.  In  the  Greek  city-state,  where  the  pop- 
ulation was  relatively  small,  it  was  compara- 
tively easy  for  a  leader  to  emerge  and  dominate 
the  group.  It  is  much  more  difficult  to  become 
the  leader  of  a  loosely  organized  population  of 
three  hundred  millions.  The  mere  mass  of 
numbers  has  an  inertia  that  requires  more  than 
ordinary  persistence  and  energy  to  move  and 
guide.  National  leadership  is  a  more  difficult 
matter  than  in  the  smaller,  more  highly  organ- 
ized Japan  or  in  the  states  of  Europe. 

Since  individual  initiative  has  been  so  dif- 
ficult and  the  tendency  has  been  to  honor  the 
past,  it  follows  that  conservatism  has  been  en- 
couraged and  progress  discouraged.  When 
individuals  or  the  nation  as  a  whole  finally 
break  away  from  the  past,  as  has  been  the  case 
in  recent  years,  extremes  of  radicalism  are  apt 

to  follow.  Unaccustomed  to  progress,  the  nat- 

135 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ural  tendency  when  the  break  comes  is  to  go  to 
extremes.  Too  rapid  change  results  and  chaos 
follows. 

Still  another  evil  of  the  Chinese  family  sys- 
tem has  been  the  premium  on  numbers.  This 
has  been  salutary  in  time  of  war,  pestilence,  or 
famine,  for  it  has  helped  the  race  to  survive 
and  recuperate  quickly.  Whenever  these 
checks  on  population  are  limited  by  peace, 
however,  the  race  multiplies  too  rapidly  and 
extreme  poverty  and  all  its  ills  follow. 

The  position  of  women  in  the  old  China  was 
midway  between  that  of  the  modern  Occident 
and  of  the  older  Orient.  She  has  been  more 
honored  than  in  India  or  in  Mohammedan 
lands.  At  times  she  has  been  educated,  and 
there  have  been  a  few  notable  instances  in 
which  empresses  or  empress  dowagers  have 
governed.  In  every  age  many  homes  have 
been  dominated  by  vigorous  mothers  or  grand- 
mothers. The  husband  and  wife  are  ideally  to 
hold  each  other  in  mutual  regard  and  both  are 
to  be  honored  by  their  children.  But  in  many 
respects  the  position  of  woman  has  not  been 
the  equal  of  that  of  her  sister  in  the  West. 
Concubinage  has  been  allowed.  Divorce  has 
been  freely  permitted,  usually  at  the  instance 

136 


CHINESE  CULTURE 

of  the  husband  and  on  a  number  of  grounds, 
some  of  them  trivial.  Women,  while  more  fre- 
quently educated  than  in  most  Asiatic  coun- 
tries, have  not  been  as  frequently  educated  as 
men.  The  widespread  custom  of  foot-binding, 
enforced  by  the  sanction  of  long  practice,  has 
been  a  physical  hindrance.  The  girl  has  not  been 
as  much  valued  as  the  boy  and  with  the  advent 
of  poverty  has  been  the  first  to  be  sold  into 
slavery. 

The  Chinese  nation  has  been  on  the  whole 
a  democracy.  Family  name  and  influence  have 
counted  for  much,  it  is  true,  but  that  is  like- 
wise the  case  in  democratic  America.  The 
descendants  of  Confucius  have  formed  a 
specially  honored  clan.  The  only  formal  no- 
bility under  the  Manchus,  however,  was  almost 
entirely  confined  to  the  Manchus  themselves. 
The  educated  official  class,  sometimes  called 
by  foreigners  the  "literati,"  formed  a  kind  of 
ruling  caste,  but  membership  was  on  the  basis 
of  merit,  not  of  birth,  and  all  but  followers  of 
a  few  despised  occupations  might  rise  to  any 
position  in  the  empire  that  was  not  reserved 
to  the  Manchus.  There  was  no  extensive 
hereditary  nobility  as  in  Europe  and  Japan. 
This  democracy  has  been  a  source  of  strength 

137 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

and  of  weakness.  It  has  permitted  the  best 
men  constantly  to  come  to  the  front,  regard- 
less of  birth,  but  it  has  also  deprived  the  na- 
tion of  the  stability  given  to  many  countries 
by  a  ruling  caste  whose  hereditary  business  it 
is  to  lead. 

This  in  brief  was  the  civilization  of  the  old 
China,  the  China  that  is  being  completely 
transformed  by  contact  with  the  peoples  of  the 
West.  In  spite  of  the  changes  of  the  past  dec- 
ades, it  is  still  predominant,  even  in  the  coast 
cities  where  the  transformation  has  been  most 
marked.  In  all  but  a  few  respects  it  is  to  be 
found  practically  unchanged  in  the  remote 
corners  of  the  empire.  Whatever  the  future 
of  the  country  and  however  thorough -going  the 
transformation,  this  older  civilization  will  be 
the  foundation  of  the  culture  of  the  future. 


CHAPTER  V 

CHINA    FROM   ITS   FULLER   CONTACT  WITH   THE 

WEST   TO   THE  WAR  WITH   JAPAN 

1834-1894 

WE  now  turn  from  the  older  history  and 
civilization  of  China  to  her  intercourse  with 
the  aggressive  Occident.  We  have  seen  how 
the  nation  developed  without  intimate  con- 
tact with  the  West,  or  indeed  without  the 
moulding  influence  of  any  civilization  but  that 
of  India.  We  have  seen  the  beginnings  of  inter- 
course with  Western  Europe,  first  overland 
during  the  times  of  the  Mongols,  and  then 
after  the  fifteenth  century  by  sea.  We  have 
also  seen  that  the  nation  as  a  whole  was  but 
little  influenced  by  this  contact.  In  1834  for- 
eign intercourse  was  practically  confined  to 
one  port,  Canton,  and  was  carried  on  under 
rigid  restrictions.  Only  a  few  scattered  Catho- 
lic fathers  ministered  to  their  flocks  and  these 
largely  in  secret  and  against  official  prohibi- 
tions. 

During  the  last  few  decades  of  the  eight- 
eenth century  and  the  early  decades  of  the 

139 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

nineteenth  century,  however,  changes  were 
taking  place  in  Europe  that  were  to  lead  West- 
ern nations  to  knock  at  the  gates  of  China  and 
eventually  to  batter  them  down.  These  changes 
are  usually  known  as  the  Industrial  Revolution, 
and  are  so  familiar  to  all  students  of  recent 
history  as  scarcely  to  need  recapitulation.  A 
series  of  inventions  had  made  possible  the 
application  of  power  to  machinery.  The  steam 
engine  came  into  use.  The  peoples  of  Western 
Europe  ceased  to  be  primarily  agricultural  and 
gave  themselves  more  and  more  to  manufac- 
turing by  the  new  methods.  Factories  and 
factory  towns  grew  up.  Manufactured  goods 
increased  more  rapidly  than  the  local  demand 
and  foreign  markets  were  sought.  A  great  im- 
petus was  given  to  foreign  commerce,  an  im- 
petus that  was  strengthened  by  the  coming  of 
the  steamboat  and  the  steam  railway.  The  na- 
tions of  Western  Europe  and  America  sought 
to  open  new  markets  and  to  develop  old  ones. 
They  reached  out  for  new  sources  of  raw 
material.  Later,  as  capital  accumulated  they 
looked  for  new  places  to  invest  it.  Their  pur- 
chasing power  multiplied  and  they  bought 
more  eagerly  the  products  of  other  lands.  A 
great  increase  in  population  followed  and  led  to 

140 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

still  further  growth  in  manufactures,  in  the 
demand  for  raw  materials,  for  foodstuffs  and 
luxuries,  and  in  international  trade.  With  each 
decade  the  effects  of  the  Industrial  Revolution 
have  been  more  apparent.  There  has  been  a 
growing  world-unity.  Europeans  have  gone 
everywhere,  and  wherever  they  have  gone  they 
have  taken  their  civilization  and  the  industrial 
and  commercial  methods  and  ideals  that  are 
the  products  of  the  Industrial  Revolution. 
The  nations  have  been  bound  together  by 
rapid  transportation  and  improved  methods  of 
communication,  by  the  steamship,  the  railway, 
and  the  telegraph.  Europeans  have  poured 
into  the  Americas.  Within  a  century  they  and 
their  children  have  added  some  tens  of  mil- 
lions to  the  population  of  the  United  States. 
The  movement  to  Canada  and  parts  of  South 
America  has  been  equally  striking.  Africa  has 
been  explored  and  divided  among  the  powers. 
The  South  Sea  islands  have  been  acquired.  The 
ancient  nations  of  Western  and  Eastern  Asia 
have  been  invaded  commercially  and  their 
markets  and  natural  resources  have  been  de- 
veloped. The  non-European  peoples  of  the 
world  are  conforming  more  and  more  to  Eu- 
ropean industrial  and  commercial  methods  and 

141 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

are  being  profoundly  influenced  by  European 
civilization.  No  similar  transformation  has 
ever  before  taken  place  on  so  large  a  scale. 

Along  with  other  countries,  China  has  felt 
the  effects  of  this  expansion  of  the  industrial- 
ized West.  Mighty  changes  have  resulted.  It 
is  the  history  of  these  changes  and  their  effects 
that  we  are  to  study  in  the  remaining  chapters. 
China  had  closed  her  doors  to  outside  influence 
only  to  have  them  opened  against  her  will.  For 
the  first  time  her  people  and  her  ancient  cul- 
ture were  brought  into  intimate  contact  with 
strong  peoples  possessing  an  alien  civilization 
equal  and  possibly  superior  to  her  own.  For  a 
time  she  resisted,  but  Occidental  culture  has 
come  in  upon  her  as  a  flood  and  the  result  has 
been  partial  disintegration  and  mighty  trans- 
formation. The  end  of  the  process  no  one  can 
yet  clearly  foresee. 

The  earliest  agent  of  the  new  age  was  Eng- 
land. She  dominated  the  foreign  commerce  of 
China  during  the  nineteenth  century  and  for 
most  of  the  time  was  the  outstanding  influence 
in  her  foreign  affairs.  It  is  only  in  the  last  few 
decades  that  England's  commercial  predomi- 
nance has  been  seriously  disputed.  The  reasons 
for  her  leadership  are  not  far  to  seek.  She  was 

142 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

the  first  nation  to  feel  the  Industrial  Revolu- 
tion. She  began  the  new  processes  in  manu- 
facturing. Other  Western  nations  followed  her 
more  or  less  tardily  and  for  some  decades  could 
not  seriously  compete  with  her.  Even  before 
the  new  age  England  had  been  the  chief  Eu- 
ropean power  in  India  and  the  Far  East.  It 
was  not  until  other  countries,  Germany,  Japan, 
and  Russia,  began  to  share  the  new  industrial 
methods  that  her  leadership  was  seriously 
threatened. 

The  signs  of  pressure  on  China  caused  by  the 
new  life  in  the  West  first  became  apparent  dur- 
ing the  last  decade  of  the  eighteenth  and  the 
first  two  decades  of  the  nineteenth  century. 
Two  embassies  were  sent  by  England  to  the 
Chinese  court  to  request  more  favorable  trad- 
ing privileges.  These  embassies *  were  treated, 
however,  as  though  they  had  been  sent  to  bear 
tribute  from  subject  peoples.  No  concessions 
were  granted  and  nothing  lasting  was  accom- 
plished. 

British  trade  with  China  grew  up  under  the 
monopoly  of  the  East  India  Company.  Before 
the  middle  of  the  nineteenth  century  the 
increasing  British  commerce  could  no  longer 

1  The  Macartney  and  the  Amherst  missions. 
143 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

brook  the  restrictions  involved.  Independent 
merchants  fought  them  in  Parliament  and  in 
1834  they  were  abolished.  The  British  govern- 
ment now  sent  out  a  special  representative 
who  was  instructed  to  obtain  further  trading 
concessions  from  China.  He  was  to  open  nego- 
tiations directly  with  the  Chinese  government, 
and  not  with  the  group  of  merchants  through 
which  the  government  had  heretofore  dealt 
with  foreigners.  The  English  insisted,  in  other 
words,  that  the  Chinese  open  their  country  to 
foreign  nations  on  the  basis  of  equality.  This 
demand  led  to  friction,  for  the  Chinese  con- 
tinued to  regard  the  English  as  barbarians. 
Under  the  circumstances  there  could  be  but 
one  outcome,  war.  Unfortunately  for  the  good 
name  of  Great  Britain,  the  question  came  to 
an  issue  over  the  opium  question.  For  some 
years  one  of  the  principal  British  exports  to 
China  had  been  opium,  chiefly  opium  raised  in 
India.  The  traffic  had  been  frowned  upon  by 
the  Chinese  government,  partly  because  it  led 
to  the  export  of  silver  and  partly  because  of 
the  demoralizing  moral  and  physical  effects  of 
the  drug.  The  Chinese  repeatedly  declared 
the  traffic  illegal,  and  occasionally  made  half- 
hearted attempts  to  stamp  it  out.  The  venality 

144 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

of  the  local  authorities,  however,  had  thwarted 
attempts  at  restriction  and  had  even  permitted 
an  increase.  Finally,  in  1839  the  imperial 
court  resolved  on  a  determined  effort  and  sent 
to  Canton  a  special  commissioner  l  to  put  an 
end  to  the  traffic.  This  commissioner,  a  vigor- 
ous fellow,  was  very  much  opposed  to  foreign 
trade  in  general  and  especially  to  that  in  opium. 
He  forced  the  surrender  of  all  the  drug  then 
held  in  stock  by  the  foreign  merchants  and 
destroyed  it.  This  and  some  other  acts,  in 
which  the  British  were  treated  with  arrogance 
and  with  what  was  from  their  standpoint  rank 
injustice,  led  to  increased  friction  and  finally  to 
open  hostilities  (1840-42).  From  the  British 
standpoint  the  war  was  primarily  to  secure 
just  treatment  of  their  subjects  by  the  Chinese 
and  to  open  China  to  trade  on  terms  more 
nearly  fair  to  foreigners.  To  the  Chinese  and 
to  most  of  the  world,  however,  it  seemed  to  be 
designed  primarily  to  force  opium  upon  the 
Chinese.  Hostilities  were  confined  almost  ex- 
clusively to  naval  attacks  on  the  cities  of  the 
southern  coast.  The  British  were  uniformly 
successful  and  finally,  after  several  abortive 
attempts  at  negotiations,  concluded  a  peace, 

1  Named  Lin. 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

known  as  the  Treaty  of  Nanking.  The  terms 
that  were  important  from  the  standpoint  of 
later  years  were  as  follows :  — 

(1)  Canton,  and  four  other  ports  south  of 
the  Yangtze  River,  including  Shanghai,  were 
to  be  opened  to  foreign  trade.    Thus  was  in- 
augurated the  system  of  treaty  ports  that  has 
endured  to  the  present  day.  It  is  through  these 
ports  and  the  many  others  that  have  since  been 
opened  that  commerce  has  been  carried  on. 

(2)  The  island  of  Hongkong  was  ceded  to 
Great  Britain.    The  island  was  at  that  time 
practically  unoccupied,  and  gave  the  British 
a  strategic  position  near    Canton  free  from 
Chinese  restrictions  from  which  they   could 
carry  on  commerce  with  China.   It  has  since 
grown  into  one  of  the  great  commercial  centers 
of  the  world. 

(3)  Fair  tariff  rates  were  to  be  imposed  at  the 
treaty  ports  to  take  the  place  of  the  arbitrary 
official  exactions  of  the  past.  These  rates  were 
shortly  established  by  a  supplementary  agree- 
ment.   They  were  low,  mostly  on  a  basis  of 
five  per  cent,  ad  valorem.  China  thus  partially 
surrendered  the  right  to  fix  her  own  customs 
duties. 

(4)  An  indemnity  was  exacted,  establishing 

146 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

the  precedent  that  China  must  pay  in  cash  for 
her  unsuccessful  wars  with  Western  powers. 
It  is  a  custom  that  has  since  helped  to  saddle 
her  with  a  huge  debt. 

(5)  Official  correspondence  between  the  two 
nations  was  to  be  conducted  on  equal  terms,  a 
provision  that  paved  the  way  for  recognition 
of  consuls  and  later  of  ministers. 

The  Western  world  watched  the  war  with 
great  interest.  Following  the  treaty  with  Great 
Britain  others  were  sought  by  and  made  with 
the  United  States  and  with  France.  The 
American  treaty  was  drawn  up  at  considerable 
length  by  a  special  mission  under  Caleb  Cush- 
ing,  and  for  some  years  served  as  a  model  for 
other  treaties  with  China.  There  was  one  im- 
portant amplification  of  the  treaty  with  Eng- 
land, that  of  exterritoriality.  American  citi- 
zens were  to  be  tried  for  offenses  committed 
in  China,  not  by  Chinese  law  and  Chinese 
courts,  but  by  American  law  and  American 
officials.  Sad  experience  in  the  past  had  proved 
that  Chinese  laws  and  Chinese  courts  were  not 
to  be  trusted  to  do  justice  when  a  foreigner  was 
involved.  It  was  the  clearest  early  statement 
of  that  principle  of  exterritoriality  that  to-day 
removes  foreigners  from  the  jurisdiction  of  the 

147 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Chinese  government  and  that  has  created  in 
China  imperia  in  imperio.  It  is  the  basis  for 
the  foreign  "settlements"  in  some  of  the  main 
treaty  ports,  by  which  the  important  commer- 
cial centers  of  China  have  fallen  largely  under 
alien  jurisdiction. 

By  these  treaties  the  old  days  of  restricted 
trade  at  Canton  were  brought  to  an  end.  No 
longer  was  commerce  to  be  carried  on  at  only 
one  port  and  through  an  official  monopoly.  No 
longer  were  consuls  to  be  without  legal  stand- 
ing and  foreigners  to  be  turned  over  to  Chinese 
courts  for  farcical  trials.  No  longer  were  tariff 
duties  to  be  levied  without  published  schedules, 
subject  to  the  whims  of  officials. 

The  effect  of  the  treaties  in  the  Occident  was 
a  greatly  accentuated  interest  in  China.  Com- 
merce with  the  West  was  expected  to  grow 
rapidly,  and  missionaries,  especially  represent- 
atives of  Protestant  churches  in  England  and 
America,  came  in  increased  numbers.  Chinese 
conservatism  and  bigotry,  however,  were  as 
yet  scarcely  touched.  The  mass  of  the  nation 
knew  nothing  whatever  of  the  war  with  Eng- 
land and  the  subsequent  treaties.  Those  who 
did  thought  of  Westerners  as  merely  another 
group  of  those  barbarians  who  had  from  time 

148 


V 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

to  time  harassed  the  empire.  No  one  suspected 
that  it  was  the  dawning  of  a  new  day.  Con- 
tinued friction  was  inevitable.  The  treaties 
were  but  the  first  steps  toward  intercourse,  and 
in  carrying  out  their  terms  there  were  repeated 
difficulties.  There  were  riots  in  Canton,  where 
the  people  were  bitterly  opposed  to  a  change 
in  the  old  order,  and  the  opening  of  the  city  to 
foreign  residence  was  deferred.  There  was 
trouble  in  the  other  open  ports,  although  these 
very  naturally  were  less  disposed  to  quibble 
over  treaties  that  had  brought  them  a  share 
in  the  profitable  foreign  trade.  Commerce  in- 
creased, stimulated  by  the  greater  freedom  and 
by  the  pulsing  new  industrial  life  in  the  West. 
Clipper  ships  cut  down  the  time  of  the  voyage 
to  Europe  and  America  and  steamboats  began 
to  appear  in  Chinese  waters.  Friction  con- 
tinued, and  it  was  evident  that  foreign  nations 
would  insist  upon  additional  concessions  and 
upon  a  further  opening  of  China. 

In  1856  war  broke  out  again  with  Great 
Britain.  The  immediate  occasion  was  dis- 
regard by  the  Chinese  for  the  British  flag  on  a 
small  vessel  engaged  in  the  opium  traffic.1  The 

1  This  was  the  lorcha  Arrow,  and  the  war  is  at  times  called 
the  "Arrow  War." 

149 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

underlying  cause  was  still  the  increased  com- 
mercial pressure,  brought  by  industrial  growth 
in  the  West.  There  was  as  well  the  inadequacy 
of  existing  commercial  concessions  and  of  ar- 
rangements for  official  intercourse,  the  disre- 
gard by  the  Chinese  of  the  existing  treaty  pro- 
visions, and  the  kidnapping  of  Chinese  coolies 
for  contract  work  in  other  countries.  The 
opium  traffic  helped,  for  no  mention  was  made 
of  it  in  the  first  treaty  with  Great  Britain  and 
it  still  continued.  The  war  dragged  on  from 
1856  to  1860.  After  some  months  the  French 
joined  with  the  English.  At  first  hostilities 
were  confined  to  the  South,  but  the  English 
came  to  see  that  if  satisfactory  relations  were 
to  exist,  negotiations  must  be  entered  into  di- 
rectly with  the  capital  and  not  with  commis- 
sioners in  the  provinces.  The  war  was  accord- 
ingly carried  to  the  North  and  the  forts 
that  commanded  the  entrance  to  Tientsin,  the 
port  of  entry  to  Peking,  were  captured.  At 
Tientsin  treaties  were  concluded,  not  only  with 
the  French  and  English,  but  with  the  American 
and  Russian  ministers,  who  had  followed  in  the 
wake  of  the  allied  fleet.  The  main  provisions 
of  these  treaties  were  as  follows:  — 

(1)  Ministers   of   foreign   powers   were    to 
150 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

reside  at  Peking.  With  direct  communication 
with  the  court  it  was  thought  that  there  would 
be  less  friction. 

(2)  Five  more  ports  were  opened  to  foreign 
commerce  and  foreign  ships  were  allowed  to 
trade  in  the  Yangtze  River. 

(3)  Foreigners  were  to  be  allowed  to  travel 
in  the  interior  of  the  country. 

(4)  Christianity  was  to  be  tolerated  through- 
out the  empire.  Toleration  in  the  treaty  ports 
had  been  virtually  granted  by  the  earlier  trea- 
ties, but  this  was  now  extended  to  all  sections 
of  the  country  and  liberty  of  conversion  was 
acknowledged. 

(5)  The  tariff  duties  as  fixed  under  earlier 
treaties  were  to  be  revised.   China  thus  con- 
tinued to  sacrifice  her  tariff  autonomy. 

When  the  representatives  of  the  powers  re- 
turned to  Tientsin  a  year  later  (1859)  to  ex- 
change ratifications,  they  found  that  the 
mouth  of  the  river  (Peiho)  that  led  to  Tientsin 
had  been  strongly  fortified.  The  foreign  min- 
isters were  urged  to  go  to  Peking  by  a  less  di- 
rect route,  the  one  usually  taken  by  repre- 
sentatives of  subject  states  on  their  way  to  the 
capital.  The  British  and  French  declined  and 

their  fleets  attempted  to  force  direct  passage  to 

151 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Tientsin  only  to  be  severely  repulsed.  In  spite  of 
these  events,  however,  the  American  minister 
went  on  to  Peking  in  a  manner  hardly  befitting 
the  dignity  of  his  nation  and  exchanged  rati- 
fications. The  British  and  French  returned  to 
the  attack,  and  finally  found  it  advisable  to 
force  their  way  to  Peking.  Here,  in  retaliation 
for  the  mistreatment  of  some  prisoners  at  the 
hands  of  the  Chinese,  the  allied  army  burned 
the  imperial  summer  palace.  The  emperor  had 
fled  northward,  but  through  his  brother  1  he 
negotiated  a  new  treaty  by  which,  in  addition 
to  the  provisions  enumerated  in  the  ones  at 
Tientsin,  a  piece  of  the  mainland  opposite 
Hongkong  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain.  Tien- 
tsin was  opened  as  a  treaty  port.  Chinese  sub- 
jects were  allowed  the  privilege  of  unrestricted 
emigration.  Missionaries  were  permitted  to  re- 
side and  to  own  property  in  the  interior,  and 
an  additional  indemnity  was  granted.  Thus 
the  foreigner  forced  the  Chinese  to  take  an- 
other long  step  toward  opening  their  land  to 
trade  and  toward  taking  their  place  with  the 
nations  of  the  world. 

During  the  negotiations  at  Peking,  the  Rus- 
sian minister  offered  his  friendly  offices  as 

1  Prince  Kung. 
152 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

mediator.  After  the  treaties  were  signed,  Rus- 
sia suggested  a  return  for  her  services.  She 
was  seeking  to  extend  her  Asiatic  territory 
south  from  the  Amur  River  along  the  Pacific, 
in  search  of  an  ice-free  seaport  and  a  share  in 
the  opening  trade  of  the  Far  East.  She  asked 
and  was  given  the  region  to  the  east  of  the 
Ussuri  River,  a  long  strip  of  territory  reaching 
southward  toward  Korea.  Near  the  southern 
end  of  this  district  she  built  a  seaport  town, 
Vladivostok,  that  was  later  to  be  the  terminus 
of  her  trans-Siberian  railway.  Thus  by  posing 
as  a  friend  of  China  she  prepared  to  share  in 
her  dismemberment. 

On  the  whole,  however,  the  policy  of  Eu- 
ropean powers  at  this  time  was  not  one  of  ter- 
ritorial aggression.  Colonial  expansion  was 
temporarily  unpopular.  What  they  wanted 
was  security  for  commerce.  They  were  quite 
eager  to  see  a  strong  government  in  China  that 
would  be  liberal  and  stable,  and  that  would 
make  possible  the  peaceful  development  of 
trade.  It  was  not  until  the  last  two  decades  of 
the  nineteenth  century  that  they  were  again 
to  be  seized  with  earth-hunger. 

The  victory  of  the  allies  over  the  Chinese 

was  made  easier  by  a  serious  rebellion  that 

153 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

during  those  years  was  raging  in  South  China 
and  that  for  a  time  threatened  to  tear  in  pieces 
the  empire  and  even  to  end  the  Manchu  dy- 
nasty. The  leader  1  was  a  Southerner  who  had 
come  in  contact  with  Christian  teaching.  He 
believed  that  he  had  a  special  mission  to  ex- 
terminate the  worship  of  idols  and  to  introduce 
the  worship  of  the  One  God,  and  attained  such 
marked  success  that  he  attracted  official  at- 
tention. The  government  attempted  to  sup- 
press the  movement,  but  succeeded  merely  in 
aggravating  it  until  it  became  a  political  rebel- 
lion (1850)  which  had  as  its  object  the  driving- 
out  of  the  Manchus  and  the  establishment  of  a 
new  dynasty  that  was  to  be  known  by  the 
name  of  T'ai  P'ing.  This  title,  meaning  in 
Chinese  "Great  Peace,"  was  a  frightful  mis- 
nomer. The  rebellion  rapidly  spread  through 
South  China  and  won  over  many  of  the  prov- 
inces. Wherever  it  went  it  brought  destruc- 
tion. Temples  were  destroyed,  —  for  it  still 
professed  a  religious  purpose,  —  cities  and 
towns  were  pillaged,  and  adherents  of  the  Man- 
chus were  ruthlessly  slaughtered.  The  rebel 
forces  captured  Nanking  and  made  it  their 
capital.  They  made  one  dash  to  the  north  in 

1  Hung  Hsiu  Ch'lian. 
154 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

an  attempt  to  capture  Peking,  but  this  proved 
unsuccessful  and  thereafter  they  confined  their 
activities  to  the  South  and  to  the  Yangtze 
Valley.  The  T'ai  Pings  almost  completely 
lost  whatever  of  high  religious  motive  they 
may  originally  have  had,  and  became  little  bet- 
ter than  a  well-organized  band  of  plunderers. 
They  threatened  for  a  time  the  Manchu  dy- 
nasty, however,  and  were  finally  put  down  in 
1864  and  1865  only  by  the  most  vigorous  exer- 
tions.1 The  imperial  forces  were  assisted  ably 
by  some  foreigners,  one  of  whom,  Ward,  or- 
ganized a  force  of  Chinese  with  foreign  officers, 
the  nucleus  of  a  corps  that  later  became  famous 
as  the  "Ever  Victorious  Army."  After  Ward's 
death  it  was  commanded  by  Major  Charles 
George  Gordon,  that  Englishman  whose  career 
was  to  end  so  spectacularly  and  heroically  in 
the  Sudan.  Under  him  it  helped  to  hasten  the 
downfall  of  the  T'ai  P'ing  power. 

The  rebellion  gave  rise  to  two  definite  insti- 
tutions that  have  survived  until  to-day.  The 
first  of  these  is  the  system  of  internal  customs 
duties,  or  "likin,"  that  was  first  instituted  to 
help  defray  the  cost  of  suppressing  the  rebel- 

1  Tseng  Kwo  Fan,  who  finally  succeeded  in  suppressing 
them,  was  probably  the  greatest  statesman  of  his  generation. 

155 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

lion.  These  duties  are  levied  at  customs  bar- 
riers that  are  placed  every  few  miles  along  the 
trade  routes  of  the  empire  and  that  remind 
one  strongly  of  the  local  customs  barriers  of 
mediaeval  Europe.  They  are  still  maintained, 
although  a  wasteful  source  of  revenue,  for  they 
are  a  convenient  form  of  peculation.  Only 
a  fraction  of  the  funds  collected  escapes  the 
hands  of  greedy  officials  and  reaches  the  coffers 
of  the  government.  The  second  institution  is 
the  collection  of  foreign  customs  duties  by 
foreigners.  These  duties  were  fixed  by  tariff 
agreement  with  foreign  powers.  During  the 
disorders  of  the  rebellion  Shanghai  fell  into  the 
hands  of  a  political  secret  order.  The  native 
customs  establishment  was  demoralized,  and  a 
board,  made  up  of  foreigners  appointed  by  the 
consuls  with  the  approval  of  the  local  Chinese 
officials,  took  over  the  collection  of  the  duties. 
The  system  was  later  extended  to  the  treaty 
ports  of  South  China  and  finally  to  those  of  all 
China.  To-day  the  collection  of  all  maritime 
customs  duties  is  made  through  foreigners, 
under  the  direction  of  a  foreign  inspector- 
general  who  is  responsible  to  one  of  the  gov- 
ernment boards  at  Peking.  China  thus  lost 
another  part  of  her  sovereignty.  The  system, 

156 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

however,  in  many  important  respects  has  been 
of  great  service  to  China.  Sir  Robert  Hart, 
who  more  than  any  other  one  man  was  re- 
sponsible for  its  organization  and  develop- 
ment, had  at  heart  the  best  interests  of  the  na- 
tion. As  the  years  went  by  he  gathered  around 
him,  and  placed  in  each  treaty  port,  men  of 
real  ability  and  broad  education  who  proved 
friendly,  sagacious  advisers  to  the  Chinese  in 
the  years  of  transition  and  who  were  centers  of 
reform.  The  customs  service  began  and  de- 
veloped a  national  postal  system  and  charted 
and  lighted  the  rivers  and  seacoasts.  As  an 
example  of  honest,  efficient,  progressive  ad- 
ministration it  has  been  of  invaluable  aid  to 
the  Chinese. 

The  years  between  the  T'ai  P'ing  Rebellion 
(1850-65),  and  the  Chino-Japanese  War  (1894- 
95)  can  best  be  treated  as  a  unit,  and  can  in 
general  be  characterized  as  a  period  of  gradual 
weakening  of  the  Manchus  and  of  gradual  in- 
crease of  foreign  influences. 

The  Manchu  power  was  slowly  but  surely 
declining.  For  most  of  the  four  decades  the 
emperors  were  minors.  The  real  authority  was 
in  the  hands  of  the  crafty  and  able  empress 
dowager,  Tz'u  Hsi.  This  remarkable  woman 

157 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

was  one  of  the  most  vigorous  rulers  of  the 
Manchu  dynasty.  Intensely  fond  of  power, 
with  but  one  brief  interval  she  was  the  virtual 
master  of  China  from  the  accession  of  her  son  l 
in  1861  to  her  death  in  1908.  The  nominal 
emperors  were  puppets  in  her  hands.  Her  own 
son  came  to  the  throne  as  a  minor  and  on  at- 
taining his  majority  proved  to  be  a  dissolute 
weakling.  He  died  in  1875  and  his  vigorous 
mother  obtained  the  succession  for  a  mere 
child,  her  nephew,  known  by  the  title  Kwang 
Hsu.  On  attaining  his  majority  he  was  al- 
lowed but  a  few  months  of  real  authority  and 
was  dominated  by  the  more  aggressive  per- 
sonality of  his  aunt.  But  for  the  strong  hand 
of  this  woman  and  the  aid  of  able  Chinese 
statesmen,2  the  dynasty  might  have  collapsed 
some  years  before  it  did. 

There  were  other  rebellions  than  that  of  the 
T'ai  P'ings,  although  there  were  none  that 
equaled  it  in  extent.  Both  in  Southwest  and 
Northwest  China  revolts  broke  out  that  were 


1  Tung  Chih. 

1  Among  these  were  Tseng  Kwo  Fan,  already  mentioned; 
Tso  Tsung  T'ang,  who  put  down  the  rebellion  in  the  North- 
west; Li  Hung  Chang,  the  controlling  voice  in  foreign  af- 
fairs for  years;  Chang  Chih  Tung,  a  great  reforming  viceroy; 
Ylian  Shih  K'ai,  later  the  president  of  the  republic. 

158 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

difficult  to  suppress.  Palace  eunuchs  increased 
in  number  and  influence.  The  line  of  the  con- 
querors from  the  North  was  evidently  losing 
its  vigor.  When  once  the  last  strong  personality 
it  had  produced  should  have  gone,  it  would 
almost  certainly  lose  its  hold  on  the  nation. 

More  important,  however,  was  the  contact 
with  Western  powers.  Improved  means  of 
communication,  the  growing  industry,  com- 
merce, and  enterprise  of  the  West,  increased 
the  number  of  points  of  contact.  This  was  seen 
in  a  variety  of  ways.  First  of  all,  there  was  a 
steady  although  slow  growth  in  commerce. 
The  total  foreign  trade,  for  instance,  increased 
from  about  $220,000,000  in  1875  to  about 
$270,000,000  in  1890.  The  imports  consisted 
chiefly  of  cotton  goods  and  opium  —  princi- 
pally the  former,  for  the  cotton  mills  of  Eng- 
land could  produce  cloth  much  more  cheaply 
than  could  the  hand-looms  of  China.  In  re- 
turn China  exported  tea  and  silk,  and  for 
many  years  was  the  chief  source  of  the  world's 
supply  of  the  former  commodity.  Trade  was 
principally  in  the  hands  of  the  British,  and 
was  carried  on  mostly  through  large  merchant 
houses,  some  of  which  had  come  down  from 
pre-treaty  days.  A  peculiar  organization  de- 

159 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

veloped.  Few  foreign  merchants  learned  Chi- 
nese, but  conducted  their  business  through 
native  middlemen  and  by  means  of  the  "pidgin 
English"  that  had  begun  its  growth  in  pre- 
treaty  days.  The  commercial  houses  could  be 
located  only  in  the  treaty  ports.  The  number 
of  the  latter  was  increased  from  time  to  time, 
and  very  frequently  there  were  marked  off  in 
them  foreign  concessions.  Following  out  the 
exterritorial  idea,  these  were  governed  by  for- 
eigners and  owed  only  a  partial  allegiance  to 
Chinese  sovereignty.  All  foreigners  were  tried 
before  their  own  consuls  or  national  officials. 
There  is,  for  instance,  a  United  States  Court 
in  Shanghai  with  jurisdiction  over  Americans. 
Natives  accused  by  foreigners  were  tried  be- 
fore mixed  courts  in  which  Chinese  judges  were 
assisted  by  foreign  advisers  or  "assessors." 
Policing  these  concessions  came  also  under 
foreign  supervision.  Originally  each  of  several 
nations  was  given  a  concession  in  a  treaty  port, 
and  each  concession  was  under  the  supervision 
of  a  consul.  Thus  at  Shanghai,  the  French, 
British,  and  Americans  each  had  a  district 
which  for  most  practical  purposes  was  under 
the  control  of  the  nation  to  which  it  had  been 
granted.  The  American  and  British  conces- 

160 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

sions  were  later  united  into  what  is  called  the 
"International  Settlement"  and  are  to-day  in 
charge  of  a  foreign  "  Municipal  Council."  Thus 
there  grew  up  throughout  China  in  the  strate- 
gic commercial  cities  of  the  empire  small  im- 
peria  in  imperio.  Almost  unconsciously,  partly 
through  weakness  and  partly  through  arro- 
gance, China  was  permitting  her  sovereignty 
and  her  territorial  integrity  to  be  compro- 
mised. Each  of  these  foreign  settlements  be- 
came a  foothold  for  Western  civilization,  a 
center  from  which  Western  influences  could 
spread  and  prepare  the  way  for  the  transfor- 
mation of  China.  Most  of  these  treaty  ports 
were  in  the  South  and  along  the  lower  Yangtze. 
Largely  because  of  this,  South  China  came  to 
be  more  radical  and  progressive,  and  opposi- 
tion to  the  foreigner  died  out  more  quickly 
than  in  the  North.  The  province 1  whose  capi- 
tal, Canton,  had  the  first  foreign  settlements 
has  provided  a  disproportionate  number  of 
leaders  for  the  new  China. 

The  increasing  contact  with  the  West  in  the 
three  decades  before  1895  was  seen,  not  only  in 
commerce  and  in  the  growth  of  foreign  settle- 
ments in  the  port  cities,  but  in  the  augmenta- 

1  Kwangtung. 
161 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

tion  of  Christian  missionary  efforts.  Christian 
missions,  as  we  have  seen,  had  begun  long 
before  the  first  treaties  in  spite  of  official  oppo- 
sition. Catholic  Christians,  the  fruits  of  the 
missionary  activity  that  dated  from  the  six- 
teenth century,  were  scattered  widely  through 
the  empire.  In  the  early  nineteenth  century 
English  and  American  Protestants  had  sent  a 
number  of  representatives  to  China.  Some  of 
these  located  at  Canton,  where  they  labored 
heroically  against  tremendous  odds,  and  some 
worked  among  the  Chinese  emigrants  in  Siam, 
Burma,  and  the  Archipelago.  With  the  signing 
of  the  first  group  of  treaties,  the  opening  of  the 
five  treaty  ports,  and  the  occupation  of  Hong- 
kong, missionary  efforts  were  redoubled.  Both 
Protestant  and  Catholic  missionaries  increased 
in  numbers.  The  second  group  of  treaties, 
finally  ratified  in  1860,  gave  fuller  privileges  to 
missionaries  and  granted  them,  as  we  have 
seen,  the  right  of  residing  and  holding  prop- 
erty in  the  interior,  outside  the  port  cities 
to  which  the  residence  of  other  foreigners  was 
restricted.  The  Catholics,  with  the  advantage 
of  an  older  work,  were  far  more  important 
numerically  than  the  Protestants.  They  had  as 
well  the  aid  of  the  French  government,  which 

162 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

for  political  purposes  posed  as  their  protector 
and  gave  to  them  a  certain  official  influence 
that  made  it  easier  to  attract  converts.  In  the 
twenty-five  years  from  1846  to  1870,  the  num- 
ber of  Catholic  missionaries  increased  from  100 
to  254  and  the  number  of  converts  from  400,- 
000  to  404,000.  These  numbers  are  estimated 
to  have  been  705  and  1,092,000  respectively  in 
1881,  eleven  years  later.  The  Protestant  body 
also  grew,  and,  in  proportion  to  its  size,  more 
rapidly.  For  example,  the  number  of  its  mis- 
sionaries increased  from  473  in  1876  to  1296 
in  1889,  and  the  number  of  church  members 
from  9  in  1847  to  400  in  1857,  3,132  in  1865, 
13,515  in  1877,  37,287  in  1890,  and  55,093  in 
1893. 

This  Christian  missionary  movement  was,  of 
course,  important  from  the  religious  and  moral 
standpoint,  for  it  brought  the  Chinese  into 
contact  with  Western  religious  ideals.  It  was 
also  extremely  important  as  an  influential 
agent  of  other  branches  of  Western  culture. 
Missionaries  were  more  widely  scattered  than 
merchants,  for  they  lived  in  the  interior  as  well 
as  in  the  port  cities.  They  were  in  China  pri- 
marily to  give  the  best  of  Western  civilization 
to  the  Chinese,  and  because  of  this  conscious 

163 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

purpose  were  more  influential  agents  of  the 
West  than  were  the  merchants.  They  estab- 
lished schools  in  which  Western  as  well  as  Chi- 
nese learning  was  taught.  The  first  Chinese  to 
graduate  from  a  Western  university1  got  his 
preliminary  training  in  one  of  these  schools. 
For  many  years  the  best  and  for  a  time  the 
only  schools  in  China  in  which  Western  subjects 
were  taught  were  under  missionary  direction. 
Missionaries  established  printing  presses  and 
so  brought  foreign  ideas  to  many  Chinese  who 
were  outside  their  schools.  Western  medical 
science  was  brought  to  China  by  Christian 
hospitals  and  physicians.  Among  the  mission- 
aries were  many  men  of  statesmanlike  vision, 
who  clearly  saw  the  situation  in  which  China 
found  herself  and  realized  that  sooner  or  later 
she  must  adjust  herself  to  Occidental  life. 
They  tried  accordingly  to  fit  her  for  the  transi- 
tion. They  were  representative  of  the  Occident 
at  its  best,  and  brought  the  Chinese  into  con- 
tact with  a  different  side  of  the  foreigner  from 
that  which  was  conspicuous  in  too  many  mer- 
chants and  diplomats.  The  readjustments  of 
the  past  few  decades  have  been  extremely  diffi- 
cult for  China,  but  they  would  have  been  much 

1  Yung  Wing,  a  graduate  of  Yale. 
164 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

more  so  had  it  not  been  for  the  work  of  the 
missionary  body. 

The  contact  of  China  with  the  West  during 
these  years  was  furthered  by  slowly  improving 
diplomatic  relations.  Following  the  treaties  of 
1858  and  1860  foreign  ministers  took  up  their 
residence  in  Peking.  They  were  not  very  cor- 
dially received,  and  it  was  years  before  they 
were  admitted  to  audience  with  the  emperor. 
Even  then  the  audience  was  held  in  the  hall 
which  was  set  aside  for  the  reception  of  embas- 
sies from  tribute-paying  states.  A  bureau  of 
foreign  affairs1  was  organized,  however,  which 
was  official  recognition  of  the  fact  that  regular 
intercourse  was  unavoidable. 

Among  the  early  ministers  in  Peking  was  a 
remarkable  American,  Anson  Burlingame. 
Affable,  chivalrous,  and  enthusiastic,  he  was 
impressed  with  the  future  prospects  of  such 
a  people  as  the  Chinese  and  wished  to  further 
their  intercourse  with  Western  powers.  He 
sympathized  with  the  Chinese  officials  in  their 
bewilderment  and  their  ignorance,  and  after 
seven  years  of  service  as  American  envoy,  pro- 
posed to  them  to  send  an  official  mission 
abroad  to  seek  for  more  favorable  terms  than 

1  The  Ts'uns-li  Ya-men. 
165 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

had  been  granted  in  the  earlier  treaties.  In 
1867  this  embassy  started,  with  three  envoys, 
two  Chinese  and  Mr.  Burlingame,  who,  upon 
resigning  as  United  States  minister,  was  him- 
self persuaded  to  accept  the  position  of  am- 
bassador of  China.  It  was  the  first  embassy 
abroad  and  was  watched  rather  cynically  by 
European  courts.  It  visited  the  United  States, 
then  England  and  the  Continent.  Unfortu- 
nately Mr.  Burlingame  died  before  his  rather 
anomalous  task  was  concluded,  and  without 
him  the  mission  came  to  an  untimely  end.  It 
was,  however,  a  long  step  in  advance  in  the 
mutual  acquaintance  of  China  and  the  West. 
In  1876,  six  years  after  Burlingame's  death,  a 
Chinese  legation  was  established  in  London, 
the  first  of  several  that  were  later  instituted  in 
various  foreign  capitals.  China  was  slowly 
beginning  to  accept  the  fact  of  foreign  inter- 
course. 

Diplomatic  relations  were  by  no  means  al- 
ways cordial  or  entirely  smooth.  China  found 
herself  in  serious  trouble  from  time  to  time 
with  each  of  the  three  strong  European  powers 
whose  territories  touched  hers. 

By  1862  the  British  expansion  from  India 
into  Burma  had  reached  a  stage  where  it  be- 

166 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

came  desirable  to  control  the  ancient  trade 
route  that  connected  with  Southwest  China. 
In  the  process  of  peaceful  exploration  during 
the  years  that  followed,  a  British  officer  lost 
his  life  on  the  Chinese  side  of  the  frontier. 
This  led  to  strained  diplomatic  relations,  but 
in  the  end  China  made  ample  recompense  and 
opened  additional  ports  to  trade.  Several 
other  points  of  dispute  were  settled  in  the 
agreement  that  ended  the  episode.  By  a  con- 
vention, concluded  in  1886  after  the  British 
conquest  and  annexation  of  Burma,  China  for- 
mally renounced  all  her  claims  to  suzerainty 
over  that  country. 

There  was  also  trouble  with  Russia.  One  of 
the  rebellions  that  marked  for  China  the  mid- 
dle of  the  nineteenth  century  had  involved  the 
far-western  part  of  the  empire  bordering  on  the 
Russian  dominions.  For  years  practically  all 
the  vast  region  known  as  the  "New  Territory" 
had  been  lost  to  Chinese  rule.  To  protect  their 
possessions  from  disorder  the  Russians  had 
crossed  the  border  and  had  occupied  territory 
that  centered  around  the  frontier  post  of 
Kuldja.  A  masterly  campaign  had  restored 
Chinese  authority  over  the  oases  and  the 


167 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

deserts  of  the  great  plateau.  The  general1  in 
charge  had  led  an  army  of  twenty  thousand 
men  or  more  across  the  wilds,  had  supported 
them  partly  by  setting  them  at  work  to  till  the 
soil,  and  by  sheer  force  of  discipline  and  strat- 
egy had  subdued  an  enemy  numerically  vastly 
superior  to  his  own  force.  It  was  a  campaign 
that  deserves  to  place  the  commander  among 
the  ranks  of  great  conquerors.  It  is  notewor- 
thy, too,  in  an  officialdom  notorious  for  its 
corruption,  that  the  commander  was  abso- 
lutely untainted  by  the  prevailing  dishonesty, 
although  entrusted  with  almost  unchecked 
power  and  large  funds.  After  the  Chinese  had 
regained  control  of  the  region  the  Russians 
showed  such  reluctance  to  return  Kuldja  that 
friction  ensued  and  nearly  ended  in  war.  Fi- 
nally (1881),  an  agreement  was  made  whereby 
most  of  the  territory  was  restored  to  China  in 
return  for  an  indemnity. 

For  many  years  France  had  been  building  up 
for  herself  a  sphere  of  influence  in  Annam.  In 
1864  she  extended  her  territory  by  acquiring 
Cochin  China,  just  to  the  south  of  Annam.  A 
few  years  later  she  attempted  to  acquire  Tong- 

1  Tso  Tsung  T'ang,  a  fellow  provincial  and  protege  of 
Tseng  Kwo  Fan,  who  had  put  down  the  T'ai  P'ing  Rebellion. 

168 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

king,  a  province  of  Annam  which  touched  the 
southern  border  of  China.  It  was  an  iniquitous 
attack  on  a  defenseless  neighbor.  Annam  was 
tributary  to  China  and  appealed  to  her  for  pro- 
tection. China  came  to  her  aid.  France  in  a 
high-handed  way  set  Chinese  suzerainty  at 
nought,  and  friction  followed  which  culmi- 
nated (1884)  in  war.  China  was  worsted,  al- 
though the  defeat  was  not  entirely  an  inglori- 
ous one.  By  the  treaty  of  peace  (1885) 
France's  protectorate  over  Annam  and  Tong- 
king  was  recognized  by  China  and  steps  were 
taken  to  mark  definitely  the  boundary  be- 
tween the  territories  of  the  two  powers. 

These  three  incidents  presaged  the  trouble 
that  China  might  later  expect  from  the  earth- 
hunger  of  the  West  when  once  it  was  fully 
aroused  and  when  once  her  impotence  was 
clearly  discerned. 

One  other  point  of  contact  of  Chinese  with 
foreigners  was  through  Chinese  emigration. 
Chinese  laborers  are  patient,  efficient,  and  able 
to  live  and  work  in  many  different  climates. 
Emigration  of  these  laborers,  or  coolies,  was 
encouraged  by  transportation  companies  and 
labor  contractors.  Numbers  found  their  way 
or  were  taken  to  Cuba,  Porto  Rico,  Peru,  and 

169 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

other  Latin-American  countries,  to  the  sugar 
plantations  of  Hawaii,  to  Australia,  and  to  the 
Pacific  Coast  of  the  United  States.  In  this  last 
district  they  were  at  first  greatly  valued,  for  in 
these  then  newly  settled  regions  there  was  a 
dearth  of  cheap  labor.  Before  many  decades, 
however,  they  aroused  opposition.  White  la- 
borers objected  to  them  on  the  ground  of  the 
long  hours  and  the  low  wages  they  were  will- 
ing to  accept.  In  their  alarm,  many  Ameri- 
cans believed  their  west  coast  was  about  to  be 
deluged  with  cheap,  unassimilable  Asiatic  la- 
bor whose  competition  would  lower  greatly  the 
standard  of  living  of  the  native  workingman. 
Anti-Chinese  riots  occurred,  and  finally,  in 
1882,  with  the  acquiescence  of  China,  an  ex- 
clusion act  was  passed  by  which  the  immigra- 
tion of  Chinese  laborers  was  forbidden  for  ten 
years.  The  act  has  since  been  twice  renewed, 
and  is  now  without  a  time  limit. 

All  this  contact  with  foreigners  was  not 
without  results  in  China  itself.  In  the  first 
place,  there  were  occasional  anti-foreign  dem- 
onstrations, signs  of  restlessness  under  the  in- 
creasing influx  of  foreigners.  There  were  no- 
table riots  in  Tientsin  and  later  in  the  Yangtze 
Valley.  Far  more  important,  however,  were 

170 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

the  conscious  attempts  at  readjustment  to  the 
new  age.  A  Chinese1  finished  his  course  at 
Yale  in  1854,  the  first  of  his  race  to  graduate 
from  a  Western  institution  of  higher  learning. 
He  had  been  impressed  with  what  he  had  seen 
abroad  and  perceived  that  China  must  sooner 
or  later  take  her  place  among  the  nations  of 
the  world.  He  conceived  the  idea  of  inducing 
the  government  to  send  students  to  American 
schools,  who  on  their  return  to  China  would 
help  to  guide  her  through  the  inevitable  trans- 
formation. He  was  finally  successful  in  obtain- 
ing the  appointment  of  an  educational  com- 
mission. A  number  of  boys  were  sent  to  the 
United  States,  but  before  they  could  complete 
their  college  training  a  conservative  reaction 
caused  their  recall.  From  among  them,  how- 
ever, were  later  to  come  some  of  the  leaders  of 
the  reform  movement. 

In  addition  to  this  educational  mission  a  few 
tentative  changes  were  made  in  the  old  exami- 
nation system  in  the  attempt  to  make  it  con- 
form more  nearly  to  new  conditions.  Two  gov- 
ernment schools  were  established  to  prepare 
young  men  for  the  foreign  office  and  the 
diplomatic  service  by  giving  them  training 

1  Yung  Wing. 
171 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

in  both  Western  and  Chinese  languages  and 
learning. 

The  telegraph  was  introduced.  Arsenals  were 
built,  and  the  attempt  was  made  to  remodel 
the  naval  and  land  forces  of  the  empire  to 
meet  Western  requirements.  Some  of  the  more 
strategic  ports  were  fortified  in  accordance 
with  approved  European  methods.  A  few  miles 
of  railway  were  in  existence,  although  the  first 
line  built  had  been  purchased  by  the  govern- 
ment in  1876  and  torn  up. 

These  changes,  however,  were  largely  on  the 
surface.  The  great  mass  of  the  Chinese,  both 
rulers  and  ruled,  were  as  yet  untouched  and 
went  on  their  way  as  though  there  were  no 
outside  world  with  mighty  nations  and  great 
civilizations.  Foreigners  were  despised  as  bar- 
barians. China  was  practically  unchanged. 
Foreign  influences  had  scarcely  affected  her. 

It  was  only  a  question  of  time,  however, 
until  these  influences  would  make  themselves 
felt  and  the  nation  would  awake  to  find  itself 
in  a  new  age,  an  age  to  which  it  would  need  to 
adjust  itself  whether  it  wished  or  not.  By  the 
early  nineties  indications  of  the  approaching 
change  were  increasingly  apparent.  The  intro- 
duction of  steam  in  trans-oceanic  traffic  had 

172 


TO  THE  WAR  WITH  JAPAN 

added  to  the  size  and  speed  of  sea-going  ves- 
sels. The  completion  of  the  Suez  Canal  had 
shortened  the  distance  from  Europe  to  the  Far 
East  by  some  thousands  of  miles.  The  cable 
and  the  telegraph  were  aiding  in  the  practical 
annihilation  of  time  and  space.  China's  island 
neighbor,  Japan,  had  opened  her  doors  to  the 
foreigner  and  had  whole-heartedly  given  her- 
self to  the  task  of  reorganization.  Manufac- 
turing and  commerce  were  increasing  in  the 
West  at  an  unprecedented  rate,  and  with  them 
wealth  and  population.  Europeans  were  press- 
ing into  all  corners  of  the  earth  for  markets, 
raw  materials,  and  outlets  for  their  surplus 
population.  They  had  explored  Africa  and  had 
divided  it  among  themselves.  They  had  poured 
into  Australia  and  New  Zealand.  They  had 
crossed  the  prairies  and  the  mountains  of  the 
North  American  continent  to  the  Pacific  Slope 
and  were  dominating  Hawaii.  Russia  was  feel- 
ing the  impulse  of  the  new  life  and  was  en- 
larging her  domains  in  Asia.  British  power  in 
India  had  been  extended  and  consolidated. 
France  was  reaching  out  from  the  southeast. 
It  was  only  a  question  of  time  until  China's  bar- 
riers would  crumble  and  leave  her  struggling 
for  life  in  the  fierce  competition  of  the  new  age. 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE  TRANSFORMATION   OF   CHINA 
1894-1920 

THE  underlying  cause  of  the  transformation 
of  China  was  the  growing  pressure  upon  her  of 
Western  peoples  and  culture.  The  immediate 
cause  of  its  beginning  was  the  war  with  Japan 
in  1894-95.  The  Japanese  had  long  been  re- 
garded by  the  Chinese  as  inferior  and  even 
tributary.  Their  civilization  was  much  younger 
than  that  of  China,  and  had  been  taken,  in 
fact,  almost  entirely  from  it.  During  the  time 
when  all  Eastern  Asia  was  enjoying  a  vigorous 
life  under  the  T'ang  dynasty,  Chinese  cul- 
ture had  entered  Japan  and  had  been  eagerly 
adopted.  In  the  succeeding  centuries  com- 
munication had  been  kept  up  in  spite  of  oc- 
casional interruptions.  The  written  language 
of  Japan,  her  philosophy,  much  of  her  reli- 
gion and  her  moral  code,  her  art,  her  constitu- 
tion, and  even  her  dress  and  her  manners  were 
either  of  Chinese  origin  or  had  been  profoundly 
affected  by  Chinese  models.  The  Japanese, 
with  fine  independence  and  vigor,  had,  how- 

174 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

ever,  freely  modified  the  foreign  culture  to 
meet  their  own  needs.  They  had  not  been 
slavish  imitators,  but  had  rather  been  quick- 
ened by  the  contact  into  developing  a  civiliza- 
tion that  bore  distinct  marks  of  the  Japanese 
genius.  Chinese  civilization  has  much  the  same 
relation  to  Japan  that  the  culture  of  the  ancient 
world  has  to  modern  Europe.  Shortly  after 
the  European  age  of  discoveries,  or  from  about 
1600  on,  the  Japanese  had  closed  their  doors 
to  foreign  commerce  even  more  completely 
than  had  China.  With  only  one  nation,  the 
Dutch,  was  trade  allowed,  and  this  through 
only  one  port  and  in  strictly  limited  amounts. 
Emigration  was  forbidden  and  Christianity 
was  proscribed.  In  1854,  however,  Japan  had 
been  compelled  by  Commodore  Perry  to  ad- 
mit the  foreigner.  Much  more  quickly  than 
China,  Japan  realized  that  a  new  age  was  upon 
her  and  that  she  must  conform  to  it.  The  proc- 
ess was  greatly  facilitated  by  the  fact  that 
she  was  a  much  smaller  state  than  China,  that 
her  government  was  more  highly  centralized, 
and  that  the  foreigner  came  when  because  of 
internal  developments  she  was  ripe  for  some 
kind  of  change.  By  1894  Japan  had  nearly 

completed  the  readjustment.    She  had  reor- 

175 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ganized  her  government  into  a  constitutional 
monarchy.  She  had  begun  the  transformation 
of  her  industry,  commerce,  and  education  after 
Western  models.  She  had  reformed  her  army 
and  her  navy  and  was  ready  to  enter  on  that 
period  of  remarkable  development  which  in  the 
last  quarter-century  has  made  her  one  of  the 
leading  powers  of  the  world. 

This  new,  progressive  Japan  seemed  certain 
sooner  or  later  to  come  into  contact  with  the 
larger,  more  unwieldy,  more  conservative 
China.  The  two  must  almost  inevitably  con- 
tend for  the  hegemony  of  the  Far  East.  They 
were  near  to  a  clash  in  1873  when  China  had 
refused  to  punish  certain  uncivilized  Formosan 
tribes  for  their  mistreatment  of  some  wrecked 
Riukiu  sailors,  and  Japan,  taking  the  law  into 
her  own  hands,  had  sent  a  punitive  expedi- 
tion to  the  island.  They  came  nearly  to  blows 
again  in  1876  when  Japan  extended  her  new 
provincial  organization  to  the  Riukiu  Islands, 
a  group  lying  between  Formosa  and  Japan. 
China  claimed  them  as  dependencies  and  for 
a  time  hostilities  seemed  imminent.  The  is- 
lands were  finally  peacefully  left  in  Japan's 
hands. 

War  came  at  last  over  Korea.  Korea's  geo- 
176 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

graphical  position  made  her  the  connecting 
link  between  the  two  peoples.  She  had  been 
the  main  highway  through  which  Chinese  cul- 
ture had  come  to  the  old  Japan.  She  had  been 
invaded  at  least  twice  by  the  Japanese,  once  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  sixteenth  century l  in  an 
attempt  to  use  her  as  a  gateway  to  the  conquest 
of  China.  From  the  time  of  this  invasion  she 
had  occupied  a  position  of  rather  shadowy  vas- 
salage to  Japan.  She  was  also  claimed  by  the 
Chinese  as  a  tributary  state.  This  latter  rela- 
tionship she  recognized  more  readily  than  the 
former,  especially  since  she  was  nearly  Chinese 
in  her  culture,  and  China  seemed  the  more 
powerful.  When  Japan  opened  her  doors  to 
the  foreigner,  Korea  remained  so  tightly 
closed  that  she  acquired  the  sobriquet  of  the 
"Hermit  Kingdom."  She  scornfully  broke  off 
all  connection  with  Japan,  whom  she  now  re- 
garded as  a  betrayer  of  Oriental  culture.  In 
1876  the  Japanese  returned  and  with  the  con- 
sent of  China  forced  Korea  to  make  a  treaty 
and  open  a  port  to  trade.  Treaties  with  Eu- 
ropean powers  followed  and  Western  influ- 
ences entered.  As  a  result  two  groups  came 
into  being,  one  intensely  conservative,  the 

1  Under  Hideyoshi. 
177 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

other  in  favor  of  reform.  The  first  looked  to 
China  for  aid,  the  second  to  Japan.  Both 
China  and  Japan  interfered  from  time  to  time, 
and  in  1885  the  two  agreed  that  neither  would 
send  troops  to  Korea  without  notifying  the 
other.  Disorder  was  rife  in  the  little  kingdom 
and  the  government  was  hopelessly  corrupt 
and  inefficient.  Japan  suggested  reforms  only 
to  find  them  blocked  by  Chinese  intrigues. 
China,  naturally,  was  not  eager  to  further  in 
Korea  changes  which  she  was  not  willing  to 
adopt  for  herself.  This  was  especially  em- 
barrassing, since  by  furthering  reforms  she 
would  be  playing  into  her  rival's  hands.  Japan 
felt  that  the  Korean  Peninsula  from  the  mili- 
tary standpoint  was  so  strategically  situated 
that  in  self-defense  she  must  have  a  deciding 
voice  in  its  affairs.  She  could  not  permit  it  to 
be  controlled  by  a  strong  military  power,  and 
she  feared  not  only  China,  but  Russia.  It  was, 
moreover,  a  natural  field  for  her  commercial 
expansion.  By  1894  friction  had  so  increased 
that  when  a  rebellion  arose  in  Korea  and  both 
Japan  and  China,  in  pursuance  of  a  previous 
formal  convention,  sent  troops  to  restore  or- 
der, open  war  broke  out.1  China  had  under- 

1  The  Chinese  resident  at  Seoul  was  Yuan  Shih  K'ai,  a 
178 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

estimated  her  island  antagonists,  for  she  had 
regarded  them  as  semi-barbarous  dwarfs  and 
had  thought  that  a  sharp  party  struggle  then 
in  progress  had  hopelessly  divided  them.  To 
her  surprise  the  Japanese  forgot  their  internal 
differences,  united  against  her,  and  inflicted 
on  her  a  sharp  defeat.  It  is  unnecessary  to  go 
into  the  details  of  the  war.  The  Chinese  army 
was  overcome  time  and  again,  the  Chinese 
navy,  although  made  up  of  modern  ships,  was 
partly  destroyed  and  the  survivors  captured, 
and  a  number  of  strategic  points  were  seized, 
including  Wei-hai-wei  in  the  Shantung  Penin- 
sula, and  Port  Arthur.  Both  of  these  places 
had  been  strongly  fortified  with  Western  arma- 
ments under  some  of  the  progressive  Chinese. 
Port  Arthur  commanded  the  Liaotung  Pen- 
insula and  the  entrances  to  the  fertile  expanses 
of  Manchuria.  Its  possessor  could  threaten 
North  China  and  Korea.  The  treaty  (of 
Shimonoseki)  that  closed  the  war  gave  some- 
what more  favorable  terms  to  China  than  her 
performance  on  the  field  would  have  justified 
her  in  expecting,  but  they  were  humiliating 

lieutenant  of  Li  Hung  Chang,  who  was  the  leading  figure 
in  the  foreign  affairs  of  China  during  the  last  part  of  the 
century. 

179 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

enough.1  The  complete  independence  of  Korea 
was  acknowledged,  definitely  ending  Chinese 
suzerainty.  Japan  was  given  Formosa  and  the 
Pescadores,  a  group  of  islands  between  For- 
mosa and  the  mainland.  She  was  also  given 
the  Liaotung  Peninsula,  including  Port  Arthur, 
and  a  huge  war  indemnity.  Several  additional 
ports  in  China  were  opened  to  foreign  trade. 
As  between  China  and  Japan  the  question  of 
the  leadership  of  the  Far  East  seemed  to  be 
decisively  settled. 

The  European  powers  had  watched  with 
interest  the  progress  of  the  war  and  some 
of  them  viewed  with  alarm  the  terms  of  the 
treaty  of  peace.  Russia  had  been  seeking  to 
build  up  for  herself  an  empire  on  the  Pacific 
and  was  extending  her  influence  into  Man- 
churia and  North  China.  She  was  already  at 
work  on  a  Siberian  railway  to  connect  Eu- 
ropean Russia  with  the  Pacific.  It  was  part 
of  a  magnificent  plan  of  Asiatic  expansion 
that  included  all  her  eastern  frontiers  from 
the  trans-Caspian  regions  and  the  borders  of 

1  China's  agent  in  the  peace  negotiations  was  Li  Hung 
Chang.  While  in  Japan  he  was  attacked  by  a  fanatic,  and  it 
is  said  that  the  Japanese  statesmen  were  so  chagrined  by  the 
disgrace  of  such  grave  national  discourtesy  that  they  modified 
their  demands. 

180 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

Persia  to  the  shores  of  the  Yellow  Sea.  Her 
steady,  long  eastward  advance  had  led  her  to 
believe  in  it  as  a  kind  of  manifest  destiny,  and 
an  ice-free  port,  for  centuries  an  object  of  her 
diplomacy,  seemed  almost  within  her  grasp. 
The  cession  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  threat- 
ened a  decided  check  to  her  plans.  She  did  not 
as  yet  greatly  fear  Japan,  but  looked  with  an- 
noyance upon  her  ambitions.  Germany  was 
alarmed  by  what  she  thought  to  be  the  Yellow 
Peril.  In  the  eyes  of  her  emperor  Japan's  vic- 
tory was  but  the  beginning  of  the  military 
reorganization  of  Eastern  Asia.  Unless  it  were 
kept  in  control  the  yellow  race  would  some- 
time oust  the  European  from  the  Far  East  and 
possibly  invade  Europe  itself.  Accordingly 
Germany,  Russia,  and  Russia's  ally,  France, 
protested  against  the  annexation  of  the  Liao- 
tung Peninsula.  Japan  was  not  in  a  position 
to  resist,  and  agreed  with  what  grace  she  could 
muster  to  re-cede  it  in  return  for  an  additional 
indemnity. 

The  war  with  Japan  was  followed  by  conse- 
quences momentous  for  China.  In  the  first 
place,  it  led  to  territorial  aggression  by  Euro- 
pean powers.  As  we  have  seen,  Western  nations 
were  by  the  latter  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 

181 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

tury  entering  on  a  period  of  commercial  and 
territorial  expansion  and  competition  as  a  re- 
sult of  the  Industrial  Revolution.  No  longer 
was  England  the  only  power  which  enjoyed 
the  fruits  of  the  new  methods.  No  longer  were 
colonies  unpopular,  as  they  had  been  earlier  in 
the  century.  Imperialism  had  become  a  slo- 
gan. The  powers  of  Europe  were  feverishly  di- 
viding among  themselves  the  undeveloped  sec- 
tions and  the  weaker  peoples  of  the  world.  They 
were  striving  to  obtain  from  the  weaker  nations 
commercial  preferences  and  concessions  for  the 
investment  of  capital  in  railways,  mines,  facto- 
ries, and  plantations.  It  was  not  only  because 
their  trade  was  developing  rapidly  and  be- 
cause their  investment-seeking  capital  was 
accumulating,  but  because  they  feared  for  the 
future  and  believed  that  unless  they  obtained 
special  grants  from  the  weaker,  poorly  or- 
ganized peoples,  some  other  power  would  later 
do  so.  The  Chino- Japanese  War  revealed 
unmistakably  the  weakness  of  China.  The 
ancient  empire  was  seen  to  be  impotent  to 
defend  itself  even  against  its  smaller  Asiatic 
neighbor.  And  yet,  with  its  vast  population 
and  its  immense  natural  resources,  it  was  cer- 
tain to  become  a  rich  field  for  commerce  and 

182 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

for  the  investment  of  capital.  In  the  desire  to 
insure  for  itself  a  share  in  her  future  each 
power  now  began  to  take  steps  to  build  up 
spheres  of  influence  and  to  divide  China.  In 
compensation  for  her  services  in  obtaining  the 
retrocession  of  the  Liaotung  Peninsula  Rus- 
sia asked  and  received  permission  to  carry 
her  Siberian  railway  directly  across  Northern 
Manchuria  instead  of  following  the  longer  and 
more  difficult  route  through  her  own  territory. 
Count  Witte  was  in  the  midst  of  his  plans 
for  railway  and  industrial  expansion,  which  in- 
cluded all  Russia  and  pushed  forward  her  com- 
mercial boundaries  along  a  frontier  extending 
from  the  northern  confines  of  Persia  to  the 
North  Pacific.  It  was  an  attempt  to  dominate 
the  carrying  trade  of  the  continent  of  Asia  by 
judiciously  placed  trunk-lines.  France  asked 
and  obtained  certain  mining  and  railway  privi- 
leges in  South  China  and  a  rectification  favora- 
ble to  herself  of  the  boundary  between  the 
French  Possessions  and  China.  Great  Britain, 
disturbed  by  the  French  demands,  obtained 
boundary  concessions  on  the  Burmese  frontier. 
In  1897  Germany  took  advantage  of  the  mur- 
der of  two  German  missionaries  in  Shantung 
to  demand  a  ninety-nine-year  lease,  as  the 

183 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

cession  was  euphemistically  called,  of  Kiaochow 
Bay.  Kiaochow  commands  the  province  of 
Shantung,  fertile  of  soil  and  rich  in  minerals, 
and  can  be  made  to  drain  even  a  larger  hin- 
terland. On  this  bay  Germany  began  building 
a  model  city,  Tsingtao,  and  to  develop  its  com- 
mercial and  military  possibilities  built  rail- 
ways, made  harbor  improvements,  and  erected 
fortifications.  She  opened  mines  in  the  great 
coal-fields  of  Shantung  and  projected  a  system 
of  railways  to  tap  much  of  North  China.  Fol- 
lowing the  German  example,  and  ostensibly  to 
secure  the  balance  of  power  and  the  mainte- 
nance of  peace  in  China,  Russia  demanded  and 
received  the  "lease"  of  Port  Arthur,  the  very 
port  of  which  Russia  and  the  other  powers  had 
deprived  Japan.  She  was  also  permitted  to 
connect  Port  Arthur  by  rail  with  the  Siberian 
trunk-line.  This  turned  over  to  her  the  virtual 
control  of  the  vast  territory  of  Manchuria,  a 
sparsely  settled  and  extremely  fertile  district, 
and  was  a  long  step  toward  an  ice-free  port.  As 
compensation  for  the  German  and  Russian 
leases,  Great  Britain  asked  and  was  given  a 
lease  of  the  fortified  port  of  Wei-hai-wei  on  the 
northern  coast  of  Shantung,  and  an  extension 
of  territory  on  the  mainland  opposite  Hong- 

184 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

kong.  Not  to  be  outdone,  France  obtained  the 
lease  of  a  port 1  in  South  China.  Even  Italy 
made  demands,2  which,  however,  were  refused. 
Not  content  with  leases  the  powers  began 
marking  out  for  themselves  "spheres  of  influ- 
ence." A  sphere  of  influence  consists  of  claims 
for  preference  in  the  section  covered.  Privi- 
leges in  commerce,  in  furnishing  capital  for  rail- 
ways, and  in  the  development  of  mines  are  to 
be  granted.  No  territory  within  the  sphere  is  to 
be  alienated  to  another  power.  England  strove 
to  reserve  the  great  Yangtze  Valley  for  herself 
and  persuaded  the  Chinese  government  to 
promise  that  no  portion  of  it  should  go  to  an- 
other; Russia  agreed  to  seek  for  no  concessions 
there  in  return  for  a  similar  promise  from  Great 
Britain  in  regard  to  territory  north  of  the 
Great  Wall.3  France  marked  out  a  more  or  less 
shadowy  sphere  in  the  provinces  of  South 
China,  and  Germany,  adjacent  to  her  leased 
territory  in  Shantung.  In  case  China  were  to 
be  partitioned,  the  control  of  these  spheres 
would  lead  to  something  more  definite.  Eng- 

1  Kwang-chow-wan. 

2  For  Sanmen  in  Chehkiang  Province. 

3  One  exception  was  made  in  a  railway  concession  from 
Shan-hai-kwan  to  Newchwang  which  had   been  previously 
granted  to  a  British  corporation. 

185 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

land  was  confirmed  in  her  predominance  in  the 
control  of  the  Chinese  customs  service  by  the 
stipulation  that  as  long  as  her  trade  in  China 
was  larger  than  that  of  any  other  power,  the 
head  of  the  customs  service  should  be  a  British 
subject. 

The  Chinese  government  had  with  much  re- 
luctance decided  to  build  railways.  It  lacked 
capital  and  would  need  to  borrow.  Here  was 
another  opportunity  for  the  powers.  Railways 
are  strategic  both  from  the  political  and  from 
the  commercial  standpoint.  A  struggle  for  rail- 
way concessions  followed  and  many  were 
granted,  carrying  with  them  the  privilege  of 
supplying  the  capital  and  of  controlling  the 
construction  and  the  operation.  A  Franco- 
Belgian  firm  was  backed  by  the  French  and 
Russian  ministers  in  a  successful  demand  for 
the  contract  for  the  trunk-line  from  Peking 
to  Hankow,  which,  with  the  roads  in  North 
China,  Manchuria,  and  Siberia,  would  give  the 
heart  of  the  country  rail  connections  with 
Europe.  This  was  done  in  competition  with  a 
British  firm  and  really  marked  the  invasion  by 
Russia  of  the  British  preserve  in  the  Yangtze 
Valley.  Russia  was  making  a  widespread  at- 
tempt to  wrest  from  England  the  control  of  the 

186 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

commerce  of  Asia.  Since  she  could  not  hope  as 
yet  to  displace  her  on  the  sea,  she  was  attempt- 
ing to  fight  her  by  great  railway  systems. 
From  her  trans-Caspian  roads  she  was  reach- 
ing south  toward  Persia  and  India.  By  her 
Siberian  and  Manchurian  lines,  now  to  be  sup- 
plemented by  one  from  Peking  to  Hankow, 
which  when  carried  on  to  Canton  would  be  the 
main  trade  route  of  China  proper,  she  hoped  to 
dominate  the  greatest  of  the  Asiatic  empires. 
As  a  counter-attempt,  English  capitalists  pro- 
jected a  railway  from  Shanghai  to  Nanking,  to 
be  joined  to  the  isolated  British  line  from  Tien- 
tsin to  Newchwang  in  Manchuria  by  a  road 
from  Nanking  *  to  Tientsin.  This  last  road 
Great  Britain  was  forced  to  divide  with  Ger- 
man interests,  now  strongly  intrenched  in 
Shantung.  American  capitalists  obtained  a 
contract  for  the  line  from  Hankow  to  Canton, 
but  later  sold  it  to  the  Chinese  government 
before  any  construction  work  had  been  done. 

Aside  from  the  Canton-Hankow  railway 
contract  the  United  States  had  had  no  part  in 
this  scramble  in  China.  She  had  been  too  oc- 
cupied with  the  development  of  the  virgin 

1  More  strictly  speaking,  from  Pukow,  just  across  the 
Yangtze  from  Nanking. 

187 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

resources  of  her  own  great  land  to  be  struggling 
for  them  elsewhere.  She  did  have  some  com- 
merce in  China,  however,  and  just  at  this  time 
had  come  into  possession  of  what  was  virtually 
Asiatic  territory,  the  Philippines.  Under  Sec- 
retary Hay  she  now  (1899)  suggested  to  the 
powers  that  they  observe  in  China  the  princi- 
ple of  the  "open  door,"  that  is,  that  no  part  of 
China  should  be  marked  off  for  exclusive  devel- 
opment. This  principle  was  accepted  by  the 
great  powers,  cordially  so  by  Great  Britain, 
since  her  traditional  economic  predominance  in 
China  was  threatened  by  her  rivals,  and  some- 
what more  guardedly  by  the  others.  It  was 
more  strongly  stated  in  1900  in  an  agreement 
between  Great  Britain  and  Germany,  an  agree- 
ment which  was  later  accepted  by  all  the  pow- 
ers but  Russia. 

The  disastrous  defeat  at  the  hands  of  Japan 
and  the  subsequent  leases  and  concessions  to 
European  powers  had  a  profound  effect  upon 
the  Chinese  mind.  Foreign  countries  could  no 
longer  be  ignored.  For  the  first  time  a  large 
proportion  of  the  thinking  men  of  the  nation 
and  even  of  the  common  folk  began  to  realize 
that  Western  countries  must  be  reckoned  with. 

One  group,  the  reactionaries,  attempted  to 

188 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

meet  the  situation  by  riots  in  a  blind  effort  to 
rid  themselves  of  the  foreigner  and  all  his 
works.  Another,  the  progressives,  realized 
that  China  was  entering  a  new  age,  whether 
she  would  or  not,  and  that  she  must  adjust  her- 
self to  it.  They  felt  that  Japan  had  defeated 
them  because  she  had  heartily  adopted  such 
Western  methods  as  she  needed.  They  be- 
lieved that  European  powers  had  been  able  to 
prey  upon  China,  not  because  of  any  greater 
native  ability,  but  because  of  their  learning, 
their  methods,  and  their  organization.  To 
meet  Japan  and  Western  nations  successfully, 
then,  and  to  avoid  becoming  a  puppet  in  their 
hands,  it  was  necessary  to  adopt  Western 
methods.  This  progressive  group  was  still  in 
the  minority,  but  it  was  an  increasing  minor- 
ity that  bade  fair  soon  to  become  a  majority.1 
The  events  of  the  past  few  years  had  given 
impetus  to  its  growth  and  to  its  activity.  As 
might  be  expected  its  leaders  were  from  Can- 
ton where  there  had  been  a  longer  opportunity 
to  become  acquainted  with  the  foreigner.  In 
1898,  after  the  Japanese  War  and  the  humili- 

1  One  of  the  best-known  and  most  influential  members  of 
this  group  was  K'ang  Yu  Wei,  of  Kwangtung.  Liang  Ch'i 
Ch'ao,  who  was  later  to  become  famous  as  one  of  the  greatest 
writers  of  the  progressive  school,  was  also  among  them. 

189 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ating  concessions  to  Europeans,  reform  socie- 
ties sprang  up  throughout  the  empire.  Trans- 
lations of  foreign  works  were  eagerly  read, 
foreign  schools  were  filled  to  overflowing,  and 
numbers  of  students  went  to  Japan  to  seek  for 
the  new  learning  in  the  formerly  despised 
island  empire.  The  progressives  succeeded  in 
winning  the  ear  of  the  young  emperor,1  who  by 
this  time  had  attained  his  majority  and  was  old 
enough  to  assert  himself  against  the  conserva- 
tive and  vigorous  empress  dowager.  He  gave 
himself  heartily  to  the  movement  and  in  the 
spring  of  1898  issued  a  number  of  decrees  which 
were  designed  to  begin  such  a  transformation 
in  China  as  had  taken  place  in  Japan.  The  old 
civil  service  examinations  were  to  be  reorgan- 
ized and  Western  subjects  were  to  be  placed 
on  the  examination  list.  Colleges  and  schools 
with  curricula  combining  the  old  and  the  new 
learning  were  to  be  established  throughout  the 
empire.  A  national  bureau  was  to  be  formed 
for  the  translation  and  dissemination  of  for- 
eign works.  The  government  was  to  be  given 
a  complete  overhauling;  useless  offices  were  to 
be  abolished  and  new  boards  were  to  be  estab- 
lished. The  privilege  of  memorializing  the 

1  Kwang  HsU. 
190 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

throne  directly  was  no  longer  to  be  confined 
to  the  higher  officials,  but  was  to  be  given  all 
members  of  the  civil  service.  The  military 
system  was  to  be  completely  reorganized. 

The  progressives,  however,  were  still  in  the 
minority.  The  great  mass  of  Chinese  official- 
dom was  intensely  conservative  and  found  an 
able  leader  in  the  empress  dowager.  The  con- 
templated innovations  were  viewed  with  con- 
sternation. The  salvation  of  the  country  was 
held  to  lie  in  returning  to  the  ideals  approved 
by  the  ancients,  and  in  ousting  the  foreigner 
rather  than  in  adopting  his  methods.  In  the 
autumn  of  1898  the  empress  dowager  suddenly 
asserted  herself,  seized  the  reins  of  govern- 
ment, and  forced  the  emperor  into  virtual  re- 
tirement. The  reform  edicts  were  canceled,  and 
wherever  possible  liberalist  movements  were 
suppressed.  The  leading  progressives  were 
executed  or  fled  to  foreign  lands. 

The  official  reaction  was  reinforced  by  popu- 
lar attacks  on  foreigners,  which  culminated  in 
1900  in  the  Boxer  uprising.  This  outbreak  was 
a  last  blind,  desperate  attempt  of  the  Chinese 
to  rid  themselves  of  the  unpopular  alien.  It 
was  based  on  the  conviction  that  the  ills  which 
had  befallen  the  nation  were  due  to  his  pres- 

191 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ence.  If  he  could  be  ousted  and  the  door  closed 
against  him  and  his  new  ways,  all  would  again 
be  well.  The  uprising  was  begun  and  led  by  a 
society  in  North  China  called  "The  Righteous 
Harmony  Fists,"  or  "Boxers."  It  was  in 
North  China  that  the  coming  of  the  foreigner 
was  more  recent  and  the  significance  of  that 
coming  less  understood,  and  that  the  recent 
territorial  aggressions  of  the  powers  had  been 
largely  concentrated.  Late  in  1899  the  Boxers 
began  anti-foreign  riots  which  spread  through 
North  China  during  the  next  few  months. 
Missionaries  and  their  converts,  living  as  they 
did  in  scattered  groups  outside  the  treaty 
ports,  were  the  most  exposed  and  suffered  most 
severely.  The  empress  dowager,  after  some 
hesitation,  apparently  allowed  herself  to  be 
persuaded  that  the  Boxers  were  possessed  of 
supernatural  power  and  that  they  were  invul- 
nerable to  foreign  bullets.  She  gave  them  her 
sanction  and  edicts  were  issued  ordering  offi- 
cials to  kill  the  foreigner  wherever  he  was 
found.  The  viceroys  and  governors  *  of  the 

1  Principal  among  these  were  the  aged  Li  Hung  Ch'ang, 
Ylian  Shih  K'ai,  Liu  K'un  I,  and  the  scholar  reformer  Chang 
Chih  Tung,  whose  pamphlet  advocating  progress,  and  trans- 
lated under  the  title  "China's  Only  Hope,"  was  well  known  in 
its  day. 

192 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

East  and  South  disregarded  the  edicts,  but  in 
most  of  the  more  northerly  provinces  they  were 
carried  out.  Scores  of  missionaries  and  hun- 
dreds of  Chinese  Christians  were  killed,  often 
with  fiendish  cruelty.  The  foreigners  in  Peking 
delayed  leaving  the  city  until  it  was  too  late  to 
escape,  and  shut  themselves  up  in  the  legation 
quarters  where  they  were  besieged  for  over  two 
months.  The  chancellor  of  the  Japanese  lega- 
tion was  killed  by  Chinese  soldiers,  and  the 
German  minister  was  foully  murdered. 

In  the  mean  time  the  powers  had  not  been 
inactive.  Troops  were  hurried  to  China,  and 
there  started  for  Peking  a  joint  relief  expedi- 
tion in  which  British,  Japanese,  Russians, 
Americans,  and  Germans  joined.  The  allied 
forces  reached  Peking  after  some  hard  fighting 
and  one  check  near  Tientsin,  and  took  the  city 
and  looted  it.  The  imperial  court  fled  west- 
ward.1 With  the  fall  of  the  capital  the  uprising 
subsided. 

The  powers  were  now  face  to  face  with  the 
problem  of  what  should  be  done  with  China. 
There  was  a  strong  opinion  in  some  quarters 
that  she  should  be  partitioned,  but  other  coun- 
sels prevailed.  In  the  end  no  territory  was 

1  To  Si-an-fu,  an  ancient  capital  of  China. 
193 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

taken  from  her,  but  conditions  of  peac^  were 
imposed  that  were  designed  to  mete  out  pun- 
ishment for  the  outbreak,  to  obtain  indemnity 
for  the  foreign  lives  and  property  destroyed, 
and  to  insure  against  a  similar  outbreak  in 
the  future.  Among  the  specific  terms  were  the 
following:  — 

The  death  penalty  was  to  be  inflicted  upon 
some  of  the  officials  who  had  been  most  notori- 
ous in  their  cruelty  toward  foreigners. 

Civil-service  examinations  were  to  be  sus- 
pended for  five  years  in  all  places  where  the 
outrages  had  occurred.  This  deprived  the 
people  of  these  districts  of  the  privilege  of 
competing  for  the  highly  coveted  degrees 
which  were  the  door  to  official  service. 

Officials  who  in  the  future  failed  to  prevent 
anti-foreign  outrages  within  their  jurisdiction 
were  to  be  dismissed  and  punished. 

The  foreign  office  was  no  longer  to  be  a  sub- 
ordinate department,  but  the  leading  ministry 
of  state.  This  would  insure  attention  to  foreign 
affairs  as  the  leading  business  of  the  govern- 
ment. It  was,  moreover,  expressly  stipulated 
that  representatives  of  other  countries  were  to 
be  granted  audiences  with  the  emperor  as  with 
the  monarchs  of  other  civilized  nations. 

194 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

Some  coast  defenses  in  North  China  were  to 
be  razed  and  arms  and  war  material  were  not 
to  be  imported  for  two  years. 

A  heavy  indemnity  (450,000,000  taels,  or 
roughly  300,000,000  dollars  gold)  was  levied  on 
China  to  pay  for  foreign  losses  during  the  up- 
rising. The  customs  duties  and  some  other  rev- 
enues were  pledged  to  its  payment  and  the 
former  were  raised  slightly  to  help  meet  the 
burden.  The  American  portion  of  the  indem- 
nity proved  to  be  more  than  sufficient  to  meet 
the  military  expenses  and  the  claims  of  citizens 
of  the  United  States  and  the  surplus  was  later 
voluntarily  returned  to  China.  It  was  set  aside 
by  the  Chinese  government  for  the  payment  of 
scholarships  for  Chinese  students  in  America. 
Some  hundreds  of  these  "indemnity  students" 
have  since  been  in  the  United  States. 

Permanent  guards  of  foreign  troops  were  to 
be  placed  in  the  capital  to  protect  the  lega- 
tions, and  the  powers  were  permitted  in  addi- 
tion to  guard  the  railway  line  from  Peking  to 
the  coast  to  prevent  a  recurrence  of  the  siege. 
The  legations  have  since  been  fortified  and 
now  resemble  armed  camps  in  the  heart  of  an 
enemy's  territory. 

The  Chinese  government  was  to  erect  a 
195 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

monument  in  Peking  to  the  memory  of  the 
German  minister  and  was  to  send  to  Germany 
a  mission  of  apology. 

Serious  complications  in  Manchuria  followed 
the  Boxer  year.  To  Russia  the  disorders  had 
seemed  a  most  convenient  opportunity  for 
strengthening  her  hold  in  that  region.  If  China 
were  to  be  partitioned,  as  appeared  for  a  time 
to  be  possible,  she  would  hope  to  come  in  for 
the  lion's  share.  She  had  hurried  troops  into 
Manchuria  on  the  outbreak  of  the  troubles,  os- 
tensibly to  protect  her  railways,  citizens,  and 
other  special  interests.  When  the  uprising  had 
ended  and  order  had  been  restored,  she  showed 
no  inclination  to  withdraw,  but  rather  tried  to 
strengthen  her  hold.  In  December,  1900,  a 
preliminary  understanding  with  the  local  au- 
thorities gave  her  the  control  of  the  civil  and 
military  administration  of  the  province.  A  few 
months  later  negotiations  were  begun  with 
China  for  an  agreement  which  would  have 
made  Manchuria  a  Russian  protectorate  in 
everything  but  name  and  would  have  given 
Russia  preferential  rights  in  all  the  vast  Chi- 
nese dominions  which  bordered  on  her  posses- 
sions. The  convention  failed  of  ratification 

196 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

only  on  the  strongest  objections  from  influen- 
tial Chinese  and  representations  by  Japan  and 
Great  Britain.  Russia  still  kept  her  troops  in 
Manchuria,  however,  and  persisted  in  her 
policy  of  obtaining  special  privileges,  com- 
mercial and  political.  Great  Britain,  Japan, 
and  the  United  States  protested,  and  in  1902 
she  agreed  with  the  Chinese  to  withdraw  her 
troops  within  eighteen  months.  This  conven- 
tion she  began  going  through  the  form  of  carry- 
ing out,  but  only  far  enough  to  concentrate 
her  forces  along  her  railways.  She  retained 
her  control  of  the  maritime  customs  of  New- 
chwang,  the  principal  port,  and  established 
there  a  civil  administration.  In  1903  she  made 
further  demands  which  included  the  virtual 
reservation  of  the  commerce  of  Manchuria  to 
her  subjects.  These  demands  were  withdrawn, 
but  Japan  and  the  United  States  attempted 
by  treaty  so  to  insure  the  open  door  that  they 
could  not  be  renewed.  Still  Russia  persisted. 
Through  railway  service  was  established  be- 
tween Moscow  and  Port  Arthur  and  a  Russian 
viceroyalty  of  the  Far  East  was  created  which 
amounted  to  claiming  Manchuria  as  a  province 
of  the  Czar's  empire.  Russia  still  delayed  with- 
drawing her  troops,  and  openly  disregarded 

197 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Japanese  interests  and  carried  on  intrigues  in 
Korea. 

Japan  was  especially  interested  in  Korea 
and  Manchuria.  She  had  a  rapidly  growing 
population  which  was  already  overcrowded. 
Arable  land  in  Japan  is  limited  and  her  hope  of 
continued  prosperity  is  in  emigration  and  in 
engaging  her  surplus  population  in  manufac- 
turing. If  she  does  the  first,  she  must  try  for 
reasons  of  national  strength  to  keep  the  emi- 
grants under  her  control.  If  she  does  the  other, 
she  must  keep  open  her  natural  market,  the  ad- 
joining continent.  Russia  by  her  intrigues  in 
Manchuria  and  Korea  was  cutting  off  Japan's 
natural  field  for  emigration  and  commercial 
expansion.  The  Russian  ownership  of  these 
districts  would  have  meant  for  Japan  economic 
distress  and  would  have  planted  an  aggressive 
military  power  at  her  doors.  She  foresaw  a 
probable  conflict  and  exerted  every  effort  to 
prepare  herself  in  case  her  efforts  to  avert  it 
were  unsuccessful.  She  increased  her  army  and 
navy,  and  in  1902  made  an  agreement  with 
Great  Britain  which  assured  her  of  the  aid  of 
that  power  in  the  Far  East  in  case  another 
power  were  to  come  to  the  aid  of  Russia.  Great 
Britain  was  fearful  of  the  Russian  advance,  not 

198 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

only  on  China,  but  on  the  boundaries  of  India, 
and  was  quite  willing  to  set  against  it  the 
doughty  Japanese.  She  did  not  foresee  the 
leading  part  that  the  little  islanders  were  later 
to  play  in  the  commerce  and  politics  of  the 
Far  East.  The  Japanese  repeatedly  protested 
to  Russia  against  her  policies  in  Manchuria  and 
Korea,  but  to  no  avail.  They  tried  agreements 
with  Russia  (in  1896  and  1901)  to  respect  their 
interests  in  Korea,  only  to  have  them  treated 
as  "scraps  of  paper."  One  party,  led  by  the 
famous  Ito,  would  even  have  welcomed  an  alli- 
ance with  Russia.  The  Russian  authorities  re- 
garded Japan  with  contempt  as  a  possible  mili- 
tary antagonist  and  at  times  treated  her  with 
scant  ceremony.  The  island  empire  finally 
struck  and  struck  suddenly.  As  a  result  of  the 
war  the  Russian  fleets  were  annihilated  and  in 
spite  of  a  stubborn  resistance  the  Russian  arm- 
ies were  driven  back.  Port  Arthur  fell  and  the 
railways  in  Southern  Manchuria  were  cap- 
tured. It  is  hard  to  say  what  the  outcome 
would  have  been  had  the  struggle  been  pro- 
longed. Japan  was  not  far  from  the  end  of  her 
resources,  and  revolution  at  home  and  the 
difficulty  of  bringing  adequate  supplies  of 
troops  and  provisions  across  the  vast  reaches 

199 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

of  Siberia  by  a  single-track  railroad  were  fear- 
ful handicaps  to  Russia.  Both  sides  were 
ready  to  welcome  President  Roosevelt's  in- 
tervention. Negotiations  at  Portsmouth,  New 
Hampshire,  followed,  and  a  treaty  was  made, 
which  among  other  things  recognized  Japan's 
paramount  interests  in  Korea  and  transferred 
to  her  all  the  Russian  privileges  and  property 
in  Southern  Manchuria.  Port  Arthur  and  the 
Russian  railways  of  the  section  were  handed 
over  to  her.  The  two  powers  agreed  to  evacu- 
ate Manchuria  and  Chinese  sovereignty  was 
still  recognized.  China  formally  sanctioned 
the  transfers  and  assignments  and  the  open 
door  was  theoretically  still  maintained.  Japan 
could  not  be  expected,  however,  to  withdraw 
completely  from  a  territory  purchased  at  so 
great  a  cost  of  blood  and  treasure  or  to  exert 
herself  to  see  that  equal  commercial  opportu- 
nity was  accorded  all  nations.  She  had  now, 
moreover,  become  a  factor  to  be  reckoned  with 
in  Far-Eastern  affairs  and  had  achieved  recog- 
nition as  a  first-class  power.  After  a  futile  at- 
tempt to  administer  Korea  as  a  protectorate, 
she  formally  annexed  it  (1910),  and  as  a  result 
became  increasingly  interested  in  the  future  of 
China. 

200 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

The  effect  upon  China  of  the  Boxer  year  and 
of  the  subsequent  developments,  including  the 
Russo-Japanese  War,  was  revolutionary.  At 
last  and  in  no  unmistakable  terms  events  had 
shown  her  that  she  must  reform  or  lose  her  na- 
tional existence.  Even  the  most  blindly  con- 
servative could  not  fail  to  read  the  lesson.  The 
foreigner  could  not  be  expelled.  He  was  there 
and  there  to  stay.  The  Boxer  uprising  had  re- 
sulted, not  in  ousting  him,  but  in  placing 
China  more  than  ever  under  his  control.  The 
Russo-Japanese  War  was  humiliating  to  China, 
for  she  saw  two  nations  fighting  over  her  soil 
while  she  stood  helpless.  It  was  also  encourag- 
ing, for  she  perceived  that  it  was  possible  for 
an  Asiatic  power  by  adopting  the  foreigner's 
methods  to  defeat  him  at  his  own  game.  The 
much-feared  Russians  had  been  worsted  by 
Oriental  islanders. 

As  a  result  of  these  lessons  the  walls  of 
Chinese  conservatism  broke  down  in  rapid  suc- 
cession and  the  country  entered  feverishly  on  a 
campaign  of  reform.  China  at  last  was  awake 
to  the  new  age  and  attempted  to  fit  herself  to 
enter  it  by  changes  which  startled  the  world. 
The  empress  dowager  saw  that  unless  the 

Manchus  could  place  themselves  at  the  head 

201 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

of  the  movement  they  would  be  swept  aside. 
She  received  foreigners  at  court  and  endeav- 
ored to  establish  more  cordial  official  relations 
with  them.  The  building  of  railways  was  en- 
couraged and  no  special  hindrance  was  placed 
in  the  way  of  granting  concessions  to  foreign 
capital.  The  new  education  was  aided.  The 
old-style  examinations  were  abolished  and 
schools  were  opened  throughout  the  empire  in 
which  were  taught  both  Western  and  Chinese 
subjects.  By  the  end  of  1910  there  were  35,198 
government  schools  with  an  enrollment  of 
875,760.  Government  effort  was  supplemented 
by  private  initiative,  and  many  private  in- 
stitutions were  founded.  Students  flocked  to 
Europe,  to  America,  and  especially  to  Japan. 
It  was  cheaper  to  go  to  Japan  than  to  the  Oc- 
cident, and  a  similarity  in  customs  and  lan- 
guage made  it  easier  to  get  the  new  learning 
there  than  at  its  source.  The  number  study- 
ing in  Tokyo  ran  up  into  the  thousands.  A 
public  press  sprang  up  and  newspapers  were 
printed  in  a  form  of  the  written  language  that 
approached  the  vernacular  and  was  easily  read 
by  the  man  of  average  education.  Transla- 
tions of  foreign  books  were  made  and  were 
eagerly  read.  English  was  studied  in  all  higher 

202 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

schools  as  a  means  of  acquiring  Western  learn- 
ing without  the  aid  of  the  translator.  A  post- 
office  had  been  started  under  the  direction  of 
the  maritime  customs  service  and  now  grew 
apace.  Telegraph  lines  were  built  by  the  gov- 
ernment to  connect  all  the  principal  cities.  By 
the  end  of  1908,  twenty-five  hundred  miles  of 
railway  were  open  in  China  proper  and  seven- 
teen hundred  more  were  under  construction. 
Hankow  at  the  heart  of  the  empire  and  on 
the  great  Yangtze  River  was  connected  with 
Europe  by  rail.  From  Shanghai,  Peking,  Can- 
ton, and  Tsing-tao  lines  reached  out  into  the 
surrounding  country.  Work  was  begun  on  the 
road  from  Canton  to  Hankow,  to  tie  the  South 
up  with  the  rest  of  the  empire  and  with  Eu- 
rope, and  on  a  line  from  the  central  Yangtze 
Valley  into  the  great  western  province  of 
Szechuan.  The  French  completed  a  railway 
from  the  coast  to  the  capital  of  the  southwest- 
ern province  of  Yunnan.  Modern  cotton  mills 
and  match  factories  were  started  and  new 
coal,  iron,  and  antimony  mines  were  opened. 
Chinese  organized  companies  after  Western 
methods  to  handle  these  and  other  enterprises. 
Attempts  were  made  to  stamp  out  foot-binding 

and  to  eradicate  opium-smoking.   The  latter 

203 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

reform  proved  and  has  continued  to  prove  re- 
markably successful.  The  importation  of  the 
drug,  its  production,  and  its  use  have  been 
reduced  to  a  minimum  and  in  many  places  en- 
tirely stopped.  When  one  considers  the  grip  of 
the  habit  on  its  victims,  their  numbers,  —  at 
least  twenty  or  thirty  millions,  —  and  the 
profits  paid  to  producers,  merchants,  and  the 
government,  the  achievement  is  most  note- 
worthy. Foreign  commerce  grew.  It  increased 
from  360,000,000  taels  (about  $270,000,000) 
in  1898  to  583,000,000  taels  (about  $418,000,- 
000)  in  1904.  Foreign  cotton  goods  were  more 
and  more  used,  foreign  machinery  came  in,  and 
kerosene  appeared  as  an  illuminant  in  even 
the  remote  districts.  An  attempt  was  made  to 
introduce  uniform  coinage  and  to  end  the 
monetary  chaos  of  the  empire. 

There  was  a  remarkable  growth  in  national 
feeling.  The  Chinese  had  racial  coherence,  but 
they  lacked  national  consciousness.  Now  the 
disgrace  of  China's  helpless  condition  began  to 
be  keenly  felt.  The  reorganization  of  the  army 
and  navy,  already  begun  by  intelligent  lead- 
ers,1 was  loudly  demanded  and  partially  ac- 
complished. Funds  for  it  were  raised  partly  by 

1  Principal  among  these  was  Ylian  Shih  K'ai. 
204 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

private  societies.  A  beginning  was  made  at  a 
reformation  of  law  courts  and  codes  in  the 
attempt  to  remove  the  excuse  for  exterritorial- 
ity. A  more  direct  control  of  the  maritime  cus- 
toms service  was  sought  and  the  effort  made 
to  check  the  complete  authority  over  it  exerted 
by  its  organizer,  Sir  Robert  Hart.  The  effort 
was  partially  successful  and  Hart  retired  to 
England.  A  demand  arose  for  a  constitutional 
government  of  a  Western  type.  A  commission 
was  sent  abroad  to  study  Western  forms  of 
government  and  to  suggest  a  constitution  for 
China. 

In  1906  a  plan  for  governmental  re-organ- 
ization was  announced.  The  central  minis- 
tries of  state  were  made  over  and  a  scheme 
adopted  for  the  gradual  introduction  of  repre- 
sentative bodies.  Provincial  assemblies  were  to 
be  opened  in  1909,  a  national  assembly  in  1910, 
and  by  1915  a  national  parliament  was  to  be 
organized  and  the  transformation  to  a  consti- 
tutional monarchy  to  be  completed.  The  pro- 
vincial assemblies  were  opened  at  the  time  set. 
They  were  chosen  by  a  carefully  restricted  elec- 
torate and  had  consultative  powers  only.  On 
the  whole  they  conducted  themselves  with  dig- 
nity and  gave  high  promise  for  the  future  of 

205 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

representative  institutions.  The  national  as- 
sembly met  as  scheduled  in  1910. 

The  new  national  spirit  had  shown  itself  in 
a  boycott  on  American  goods  in  1905  as  an 
expression  of  disapproval  of  the  treatment  ac- 
corded Chinese  in  the  United  States. 

In  this  transformation  of  China,  Christian 
missionaries  played  a  prominent  part.  They 
were  more  widely  scattered  and  were  in  more 
intimate  contact  with  the  people  than  any 
other  group  of  foreigners.  They  were  for  the 
most  part  men  and  women  of  ability  and  were 
interested,  not  only  in  the  religious,  but  in 
the  social,  physical,  political,  and  economic 
regeneration  of  China.  They  sought  to  bring 
the  best  of  the  West  to  China.  They  founded 
schools  and  colleges  throughout  the  empire. 
Inadequate  as  many  of  these  were,  they  were 
more  efficient  than  the  hastily  organized  gov- 
ernment schools,  and  a  large  proportion  of  the 
leaders  of  the  new  China  have  come  from  them. 
Hospitals  were  widely  established  in  which  the 
scientific  methods  of  the  Occident  were  sub- 
stituted for  the  clumsy  and  often  superstitious 
practices  of  the  Orient.  A  few  medical  schools 
were  founded  —  a  first  step  toward  training  a 
modern  Chinese  medical  profession.  Preven- 

206 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

live  medicine  and  public  sanitation  were  talked 
of  as  means  of  reaching  disease  at  its  source. 
Famine  was  attacked,  not  only  by  the  organi- 
zation of  relief,  but  by  plans  for  removing  at 
least  some  of  its  causes  by  reclamation  proj- 
ects, forestry,  and  improved  methods  of  agri- 
culture. Wholesome  Western  literature  was 
translated  and  distributed.  Churches  were 
organized  throughout  the  empire,  centers  of 
light  and  hope  and  of  revolutionary,  regen- 
erating influences.  By  1911  the  number  of 
Protestant  church  members  had  passed  the 
200,000  mark,  four  times  the  number  of  twenty 
years  before.  The  Catholic  Church  counted 
nearly  a  million  and  a  half  as  Catholic  Chris- 
tians, a  substantial  increase,  although  not  so 
great  proportionately  as  that  of  their  Protest- 
ant brethren. 

The  reform  movement  in  China  finally 
swept  aside  the  Manchus.  These  lost  in  1908 
their  last  great  leader,  the  empress  dowager. 
She  and  the  unfortunate  emperor  died  within 
a  few  days  of  each  other  and  an  infant *  was 
elevated  to  the  throne  under  a  regency  that 
proved  unequal  to  the  situation.  A  republican 

1  Known  by  his  reigning  title  Hslian  T'ung,  "promulgating 
universally." 

207 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

movement  had  for  some  time  been  agitated, 
largely  by  Cantonese  in  China  and  abroad, 
under  the  leadership  of  the  foreign-trained 
Sun  Yat  Sen.  It  was  the  extreme  wing  of  the 
reform  party  and  saw  in  democracy  the  ideal 
for  the  new  China.  For  years  Sun  had  been 
traveling  among  the  Chinese  abroad,  preach- 
ing a  republic  and  building  up  a  constituency. 
In  the  spring  of  1911  unrest  became  acute. 
The  central  government  attempted  to  place 
the  railways  of  the  empire,  many  of  them 
owned  in  the  provinces,  under  imperial  control, 
and  to  complete  them  by  funds  raised  by  for- 
eign loans.  This  aroused  bitter  opposition  in 
the  provinces.  The  extremists  took  advantage 
of  the  unrest  and  in  October,  1911,  led  a  re- 
bellion which  broke  out  at  Wuchang  opposite 
the  great  commercial  city  of  Hankow,  the  key 
to  the  central  Yangtze  Valley.  The  revolt 
speedily  assumed  alarming  proportions.  The 
Manchus  in  a  panic  called  to  their  aid  Yuan 
Shih  K'ai.  Yuan  had  been  prominent  under 
the  empress  dowager,  first  as  Chinese  resident 
in  Korea  before  the  fateful  war  with  Japan  and 
later  in  the  coup  d'etat  of  1898  when  he  was 
accused  of  betraying  the  young  emperor.  As 

governor  of  Shantung  during  1900  he  showed( 

208 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

his  good  judgment  by  opposing  the  Boxer  mad- 
ness. He  was  unpopular  with  the  regency  and 
had  been  dismissed  from  court  after  the  death 
of  the  empress  dowager.  He  was  primarily  a 
soldier,  a  leader  of  the  new  army,  thoroughly 
convinced  of  the  necessity  of  reorganizing 
China  by  adopting  Western  ideas;  but  being  a 
Northerner  he  represented  a  more  conserva- 
tive type  of  reformer.  He  was  given  full  con- 
trol of  the  imperialist  fortunes.  After  a  few 
weeks  of  localized  fighting,  Yuan  announced 
to  the  Manchus  that  the  revolutionary  move- 
ment  had  become  so  strong  that  it  seemed  to 
him  best  that  the  dynasty  should  abdicate. 
This  it  did,  entrusting  the  future  disposition  of 
the  country  to  his  hands.  In  the  mean  time  the 
provinces  south  of  the  Yangtze  had  organized 
themselves  into  a  republic  with  Nanking  as 
their  capital  and  had  elected  Sun  Yat  Sen 
as  provisional  president.  Early  in  1912  Sun 
agreed  to  resign  in  the  interests  of  unity  and 
Yiian  Shih  K'ai  was  elected  the  provisional 
president  of  the  Republic  of  United  China. 

This  change  to  a  republic,  so  startling  to  the 
West,  was  in  reality  logical.  The  Manchus  had 
become  weak  and  as  foreign  conquerors  could 

not  be  tolerated  by  the  awakened  patriotism  of 

209 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

the  new  China.  There  was  no  recognized  na- 
tive dynasty  to  which  the  Chinese  could  turn, 
and  there  was  no  man  who  would  be  univer- 
sally acceptable  as  the  founder  of  a  new  one. 
In  the  old  days  the  country  would  have  been 
thrown  into  prolonged  civil  strife  from  which 
some  successful  general  might  eventually  have 
emerged  as  the  founder  of  a  new  dynasty.  But 
foreign  powers  would  have  intervened  had 
that  been  attempted  in  1912,  for  it  would  have 
put  in  jeopardy  their  citizens  and  their  com- 
merce. A  republic  was,  seemingly,  the  only 
form  of  government  that  would  prevent  exten- 
sive civil  strife  for  the  moment  and  maintain 
China's  independence.  It  was,  moreover,  not 
entirely  foreign  to  China's  previous  training. 
Her  government  had  had  many  features,  par- 
ticularly in  the  village  organization  and  in  the 
civil  service,  which  readily  lent  themselves  to  a 
republican  organization.  The  chief  change  was 
in  the  substitution  of  an  elected  president  for 
an  hereditary  emperor,  and  in  the  introduction 
of  democratic  ideals  of  increased  popular  con- 
trol in  all  branches  of  the  government,  ideals 
which  were  not  in  a  strict  sense  a  necessary 
accompaniment  of  a  republic. 

The  founders  of  the  republic,  radical  South- 
210 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

erners,  had  in  mind  a  very  democratic  form  of 
constitution.  The  franchise  was  to  be  granted 
with  as  few  restrictions  as  possible  and  was 
even  in  some  sections  to  be  opened  to  women 
as  well  as  to  men.  Party  government  was  to  be 
instituted,  and  the  national  assembly  and  a 
responsible  cabinet,  rather  than  the  president, 
were  to  be  the  dominating  factors  in  the  state. 
Yuan  Shih  K'ai,  however,  representing  the 
Northern  and  more  conservative  element,  be- 
lieved in  a  strong  executive  and  a  centralized 
government.  The  North  and  the  South,  as  we 
have  seen,  had  always  been  somewhat  different 
in  spoken  language,  and  even  in  blood,  and  at 
times  they  have  been  divided  politically.  The 
South  had  been  longer  in  contact  with  the  for- 
eigner and  was  now  more  ready  to  adopt  his 
ways.  There  ensued  a  struggle  between  the 
radical  group  which  was  in  control  in  the 
South,  and  the  more  conservative  group,  led 
by  Yuan,  with  its  stronghold  in  the  North. 
Friction  was  almost  constant  and  became 
acute  over  alleged  political  murders  by  the 
president,  and  his  removal  of  southerners  from 
office.  The  issue  was  joined  chiefly  over  the 
question  of  a  foreign  loan.  The  new  govern- 
ment was  in  dire  need  of  funds  and  could  not 

211 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

immediately  obtain  them  in  sufficient  amounts 
from  taxation.  A  combination  of  foreign  capi- 
talists, representing  Great  Britain,  France, 
Germany,  the  United  States,  Russia,  and 
Japan,  offered  to  make  a  loan.  It  was  to  be 
a  large  one  and  was  to  be  secured  by  a  lien  on 
Chinese  revenues,  principally  the  income  from 
the  salt  monopoly.  It  involved  increased  po- 
litical as  well  as  financial  control  and  evidently 
compromised  still  further  Chinese  indepen- 
dence. So  prominent  was  the  political  side  that 
President  Wilson  refused  to  give  official  back- 
ing to  the  American  capitalists,  and  these  with- 
drew, leaving  the  loan  to  be  made  by  the  repre- 
sentatives of  the  five  powers.  The  Southern 
radical  party1  was  opposed  to  the  loan,  and 
obstructed  its  ratification  by  the  national  as- 
sembly. Finally,  in  the  spring  of  1913,  Yuan 
signed  it  on  his  own  authority,  without  the 
sanction  of  the  assembly.  At  once  a  rebellion 
broke  out  in  the  South,  in  an  attempt  to  depose 
the  president  who,  it  was  alleged,  had  sold  his 
country  to  the  foreigner.  The  uprising  was 
quickly  put  down  and  Yuan  professed  to  find 
that  the  radical  party  had  been  back  of  it.  It 
had  certainly  obstructed  administration  by 

1  The  Kwo  Ming  Tang. 
212 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

long  delays  in  the  national  assembly,  where 
but  little  had  been  accomplished  toward  or- 
ganizing a  permanent  government.  The  prov- 
inces, too,  were  tending  to  become  more  and 
more  independent  of  Peking.  The  times 
seemed  to  demand  prompt  action  and  the 
guidance  of  a  single  strong  hand.  In  October, 
1913,  Yiian  forced  through  the  national  as- 
sembly his  election  as  president  for  a  term  of 
five  years.  That  done,  he  dissolved  the  radical 
party  and  expelled  its  members  from  the  na- 
tional assembly  on  the  ground  of  their  connec- 
tion with  the  rebellion  of  the  summer.  The 
expulsion  of  the  radical  party  left  the  assembly 
with  only  a  minority  of  its  members  and  after 
a  few  weeks  the  president  obtained  the  disso- 
lution of  what  was  left.  He  took  the  step  only 
after  consulting  the  governors  of  the  provinces 
and  an  Administrative  Conference,  composed 
of  over  seventy  experienced  men  chosen  by 
himself.  He  dismissed  as  well  the  provincial 
assemblies,  the  representative  bodies  that  had 
come  into  existence  during  the  last  years  of 
the  empire,  and  prepared  to  strengthen  the 
hold  of  the  capital  on  the  provinces  by  a  cen- 
tralized military  government.  This  made  Yiian 

virtually  a  dictator,  depending  on  the  army 

213 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

for  support.  He  still  professed,  however,  to 
be  loyal  to  the  republic,  and  took  steps  to 
gather  a  convention  which  should  provide  the 
nation  with  a  revised  provisional  constitution. 
This  convention  was  elected  on  the  basis  of 
a  limited  franchise  and  was  made  up  of  the 
conservatives  and  the  moderates.  It  promul- 
gated in  1914  a  revision  of  the  provisional 
constitution  which  lengthened  the  president's 
term  to  ten  years  and  virtually  gave  him  the 
power  of  choosing  his  own  successor  or  of 
continuing  himself  in  office.  It  provided  for  a 
parliament  and  a  council  of  state  appointed  by 
the  president,  but  the  president  was  given  an 
absolute  veto  over  the  former  and  in  other  ways 
was  to  be  the  dominant  figure.  Given  the  right 
president  it  probably  provided  the  form  of 
government  best  suited  to  serve  as  the  natural 
transition  from  the  monarchy  of  the  Manchus 
to  a  democratic  republic.  Arrangements  were 
begun  for  a  council  which  should  draft  a  per- 
manent document,  supposedly  much  on  the 
same  lines  as  this  revision  of  the  provisional 
constitution.  The  permanent  constitution  was 
to  be  ratified  finally  by  a  national  convention. 
By  the  autumn  of  1915  there  arose  in  some 
quarters  a  demand,  encouraged  by  many  of  the 

214 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

military  chiefs,  that  Yuan  become  emperor. 
For  a  time  he  seemed  to  resist,  but  he  finally 
went  through  the  form  of  submitting  the  ques- 
tion to  a  group  of  some  two  thousand  electors 
who  were  supposed  to  represent  the  nation. 
These  were  so  carefully  chosen  from  among 
Yiian's  adherents  that  they  declared  almost 
unanimously  for  the  change,  and  in  December, 
1915,  the  decision  to  make  it  was  announced. 
The  establishment  of  the  empire,  however,  was 
destined  not  to  be  accomplished.  The  powers 
at  first  seemed  to  favor  it,  but  within  a  few 
weeks  Japan,  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Rus- 
sia, led  by  Japan,  protested  against  it.  With 
these  opposing  its  fate  was  sealed.  A  rebellion 
broke  out  in  the  South  and  West,  led  partly  by 
the  republicans  and  partly  by  military  leaders 
who  saw  a  chance  of  furthering  their  personal 
ambitions.  In  March,  1916,  Yuan  yielded  and 
announced  the  restoration  of  the  republic. 
This,  however,  was  a  confession  of  weakness, 
and  although  followed  by  other  concessions 
which  greatly  limited  his  power  and  granted 
much  that  the  radicals  had  asked,  it  did  not 
allay  the  unrest.  Most  of  the  provinces  south 
of  the  Yangtze  revolted  and  demanded  nothing 
short  of  the  resignation  and  exile  of  Yiian.  The 

215 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

country  seemed  to  be  splitting  up  into  frag- 
ments. Not  only  provinces  but  cities  declared 
their  independence.  The  income  of  the  gov- 
ernment fell  behind  and  a  serious  financial 
panic  threatened.  Anarchy  seemed  at  hand. 
Some  of  the  leaders  of  the  revolting  provinces 
met  at  Nanking  to  decide  on  action  independ- 
ent of  Peking.  A  new  turn  to  events  was  given 
by  the  sudden  death  of  Yiian  in  June,  1916, 
probably  because  the  strain  of  his  office  and 
of  the  rebellion  had  aggravated  a  long-stand- 
ing weakness.  Li  Yiian  Hung,  the  vice-presi- 
dent, automatically  came  to  the  presidential 
chair.  Li  first  came  into  prominence  in  1911 
as  the  revolutionary  general  at  Wuchang.  He 
had  had  a  modern  training,  primarily  on  mili- 
tary lines,  and  used  English  with  some  degree 
of  ease.  He  had  had  an  admirable  record  for 
integrity,  simplicity,  directness  of  thought  and 
speech,  and  wise,  prompt  action.  Although  by 
no  means  an  extremist  he  had  been  known  to 
be  more  favorable  to  the  radical  Southern  wing 
than  was  Yiian,  and  during  the  latter  part  of 
his  predecessor's  administration  had  been  kept 
in  Peking  under  careful  surveillance.  His  ac- 
cession to  power  seemed  to  mean  the  union  of 

both  radicals  and  conservatives  in  the  admin- 

216 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

istration.  The  members  of  the  National  as- 
sembly, which  had  been  dissolved  by  Yuan, 
again  came  together  at  Peking  and  took  up 
their  work  where  it  had  been  interrupted  by 
the  coup  d'etat  of  the  autumn  of  1913. 

While  these  internal  developments  were  tak- 
ing place,  new  and  startling  events  supervened 
in  China's  foreign  relations.  The  revolution 
had  been  the  signal  for  uprisings  in  the  out- 
lying dependencies  of  the  empire  and  the 
loosening  of  the  control  of  the  central  govern- 
ment over  them.  Both  Tibet  and  Mongolia 
became  for  a  time  virtually  independent.  The 
European  powers  whose  territories  bordered  on 
these  districts  were  not  slow  to  take  advantage 
of  the  situation.  Russia,  whose  influence  in  the 
region  had  been  weakened  since  her  war  with 
Japan,  made  overtures  to  the  "independent" 
government  in  Outer  Mongolia,  that  portion 
of  Mongolia  bordering  on  Siberia,  which  would 
have  made  of  it  a  Russian  protectorate.  Great 
Britain  extended  her  claims  in  Tibet.  Already 
in  the  preceding  decade  she  had  sent  an  expedi- 
tion to  Lhassa  under  Younghusband  and  had 
entered  into  an  agreement  with  China  which, 
while  respecting  Chinese  suzerainty,  excluded 
other  powers,  and  so  made  Tibet  a  buffer  state 

217 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

against  a  possible  Russian  advance  on  India. 
China  entered  into  negotiations  with  both 
powers.  In  1913  and  1915  she  agreed  to  ac- 
knowledge Russian  commercial  privileges  in 
Outer  Mongolia  and  the  autonomy  of  the  re- 
gion hi  return  for  the  recognition  of  her  suze- 
rainty. In  the  case  of  Tibet  she  refused  to  ratify 
a  convention  with  Great  Britain  whereby  the 
dependency  was  to  be  divided  into  two  dis- 
tricts, an  inner  and  an  outer  one.  China  was 
to  retain  her  suzerainty  over  both  but  was 
to  cease  to  interfere  in  the  affairs  of  Outer 
Tibet.  A  final  agreement  has  not  been  reached. 
Japan  in  the  mean  time  looked  with  longing 
eyes  on  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia,  the  district 
bordering  on  Southern  Manchuria.  It  was  evi- 
dent that  only  a  strong  hand  in  Peking  could 
save  these  great  domains  for  China. 

The  great  European  War  of  1914  started 
new  and  immensely  significant  developments. 
Japan  and  England  were  bound  together  by 
the  Anglo-Japanese  Alliance.  This,  originally 
made  in  1902,  had  been  renewed  and  extended 
in  1905,  and  had  again  been  renewed  with 
slight  modifications  in  1911.  Japan,  too,  had 
been  gradually  drawn  into  the  group  of  the 

Entente  Powers.  The  new  friendliness  of  Eng- 

218 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

land,  France,  and  Russia,  which  was  one  of  the 
features  of  the  first  decade  of  the  twentieth 
century  and  which  had  shown  itself  so  strongly 
at  Algeciras  and  in  Persia,  and  finally  in  the 
union  against  the  Central  Powers  in  1914,  had 
embraced  Japan.  France  and  Japan  had  en- 
tered into  an  agreement  in  1907  regarding 
Far-Eastern  affairs,  which  paved  the  way  for 
a  reconciliation  with  Russia,  France's  ally. 
When  in  1909  the  United  States,  in  the  inter- 
ests of  the  open  door,  suggested  the  neutraliza- 
tion of  the  Manchurian  railways,  Russia  and 
Japan  had  both  taken  alarm  at  the  threat  to 
their  special  interests,  and  in  July,  1910,  en- 
tered into  an  agreement  to  preserve  the 
status  quo.  The  Anglo- Japanese  Alliance  did 
not  bind  Japan  to  go  to  war  unless  Great 
Britain  were  attacked  in  the  Far  East,  and  the 
Japanese  were  probably  under  no  obligation 
even  then  to  do  more  than  to  help  protect 
British  shipping  and  colonies  against  the  en- 
emy. Japan,  however,  took  an  active  part  in 
the  war,  and  not  only  assisted  in  driving  Ger- 
man warships  from  the  Far-Eastern  waters, 
but  captured  German  possessions  in  the  Pa- 
cific, and  sent  immense  quantities  of  munitions 
to  Russia  via  the  Siberian  Railway.  Her  most 

219 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

important  acts,  however,  were  in  China.  From 
Japan's  standpoint  it  appears  to  be  a  matter  of 
life  and  death  that  she  be  assured  an  open  door 
to  her  great  neighbor.  There  is  the  natural 
field  for  her  commercial  expansion,  and  with- 
out this  expansion  her  future  as  a  great  power 
is  dark.  China  possesses  great  quantities  of 
coal  and  iron  and  a  huge  population  which  can 
be  organized  into  a  mighty  industrial  force. 
She  is  potentially  a  fabulously  rich  market. 
What  wonder  that  the  Japanese  should  desire 
to  lead  her  and  to  establish  that  leadership  so 
firmly  that  it  cannot  be  disputed  by  Western 
powers!  Already  her  merchants  had  pene- 
trated to  all  parts  of  the  country.  Already 
heavily  subsidized  steamers  traversed  the 
waters  of  China  and  competed  successfully 
with  the  long-established  English  lines.  Jap- 
anese manufactures,  cottons,  matches,  to- 
baccos, and  medicines,  were  already  flooding 
Chinese  markets.  She  had  seventeen  per  cent 
of  China's  foreign  trade.  The  great  war  offered 
the  opportunity  for  which  she  had  been  look- 
ing. While  the  nations  of  Europe  were  busy  at 
home,  she  could  gain  so  great  a  hold  on  her 
neighbor  that  they  would  be  forced  to  recog- 
nize it  after  the  war.  As  an  ally  of  Great  Brit- 

220 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

ain  she  could  drive  out  Germany,  and  as  the 
price  of  her  aid  she  could  demand  a  freer  hand 
in  China.  This  she  did.  Tsing-tao  was  be- 
sieged by  a  joint  British  and  Japanese  force 
under  the  leadership  of  the  latter,  and  after 
a  few  weeks  of  gallant  defense  surrendered. 
Japan  occupied  not  only  the  German  leased 
territory,  but  the  German  railways  and  mines 
in  Shantung.  In  a  short  time  she  began  making 
a  series  of  demands  on  China,  demands  which 
amounted  to  her  undisputed  leadership  in  the 
foreign  and  even  the  internal  affairs  of  the  un- 
wieldy republic.  These  were  in  five  groups :  — 
(1)  In  regard  to  the  province  of  Shantung, 
China  was  to  give  her  consent  to  any  transfer 
of  German  rights  and  privileges  to  Japan  that 
the  latter  might  obtain.  China  was  to  promise 
not  to  alienate  to  any  third  power  any  territory 
in  Shantung  or  along  its  coast  either  by  sale  or 
by  lease.  She  was  to  grant  Japan  the  privilege, 
subject  to  German  consent,  of  financing  the 
building  of  certain  railways  in  Shantung.  She 
was  to  open  additional  treaty  ports.  These  de- 
mands would  not  only  make  Japan  the  succes- 
sor of  Germany  in  this  wealthy  and  strategic 
province,  but  they  would  give  her  more  than 
Germany  had  ever  had. 

221 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

(2)  In    regard   to    South    Manchuria    and 
Eastern  Inner  Mongolia  (the  part  of  Mongolia 
contiguous  with  South  Manchuria) :  the  lease 
of  Port  Arthur,  Dalny,  and  the  Japanese  rail- 
ways in  Manchuria  was  to  be  extended  to 
ninety-nine  years.   Japanese  subjects  were  to 
have  the  privilege  in  South  Manchuria  of  buy- 
ing or  leasing  land  for  trade,  manufacturing, 
and  agriculture,  a  privilege  which  was  not 
given  to  foreigners  elsewhere  in  China.   Japa- 
nese were  also  to  be  allowed  to  reside  and  to 
travel  anywhere  in  South  Manchuria.    With 
these  privileges  came  an  extension  of  the  juris- 
diction of  Japanese  courts  in  South  Manchuria. 
Other  concessions  in  regard  to  mines,  railways, 
government  loans,  and   the  employment  of 
advisers  were  demanded.    These,  if  granted, 
would  be  a  large  additional  step  toward  hand- 
ing over  South  Manchuria  to  Japan.    The 
Japanese  sphere  of  influence  was  to  be  ex- 
tended in  Eastern  Inner  Mongolia. 

(3)  The  largest  iron-works  in  China  *  were 
already  mortgaged  to  Japanese  capital.  At  the 
right  moment  these  were  to  be  made  the  joint 
concern  of  China  and  Japan,  and  China  was 
not  to  sell  her  interest  in  the  company  without 

1  At  Hanyang,  opposite  Hankow. 

222 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

Japan's  consent,  nor  to  allow  mines  near  those 
of  the  company  to  be  worked  without  the 
company's  consent.  This  would  give  Japan 
control  of  the  best  iron-works  in  China,  with 
great  deposits  of  coal  and  iron.  This  last  is 
needed  badly  by  Japan,  for  the  island  empire 
has  practically  no  iron  ore. 

(4)  China  was  to  agree  that  she  would  lease 
or  sell  no  island,  port,  or  harbor  along  her  coast 
to  any  third  power.1 

(5)  The  fifth  group  included  a  number  of 
very  radical  demands.   China  was  to  employ 
Japanese  advisers  in  political,  financial,  and 
military  affairs,  virtually  insuring  them  the 
direction  of  her  central  government.  Japanese 
were  to  have  the  privilege  of  owning  land  for 
the  building  of  hospitals,  churches,  and  schools, 
and  of  propagating  religious  ideas.  The  police 
departments  of   important  places  in    China 
were  to  be  jointly  administered  by  Japanese 
and  Chinese.  China  was  to  purchase  from  the 
Japanese  a  fixed  proportion  of  her  arms,  fifty 
per  cent  or  more.   Certain  railway  concessions 
were  to  be  granted  them  in  the  Yangtze  Valley. 
In  the  province  of  Fuhkien,  opposite  the  Japa- 

1  This  as  later  modified  applied  only  to  Shantung  and  hi 
part  to  Fuhkien. 

223 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

nese-owned  Formosa,  they  were  to  be  allowed 
to  work  mines,  build  railways,  and  construct 
harbor-works,  and  were  to  be  consulted  before 
any  foreign  capital  should  be  borrowed. 

A  wave  of  indignation  swept  over  China 
when  these  demands  became  known,  and  some 
opposition  was  aroused  in  Europe,  especially  in 
England.  British  merchants  did  not  view  with 
equanimity  the  increasing  Japanese  competi- 
tion in  China  or  the  sacrifice  of  their  interests 
entailed  by  the  Japanese  alliance.  The  Chinese 
government  was  at  first  disposed  to  resist,  but 
it  could  not  expect  military  aid  from  Europe 
or  America,  and  unaided  it  could  not  hope  to 
resist  Japan  successfully.  Japan  modified  her 
demands  somewhat,  but  finally  (May,  1915) 
presented  an  ultimatum  insisting  on  most  of 
the  points  in  the  first  four  groups  as  revised. 
These  China  granted.  The  fifth  group  was 
left  over  for  further  discussion.  The  effect 
was  to  make  Japan  the  dominant  power  in 
China,  at  least  until  the  European  War  should 
be  over.  However,  instead  of  leading  to  an 
alliance  between  the  Japanese  and  Chinese,  in 
which  the  latter  should  give  themselves  will- 
ingly to  the  leadership  of  the  island  kingdom 
and  the  two  present  a  united  front  to  the 

224 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

world,  it  aroused  among  all  Chinese  a  help- 
less but  bitter  hatred  of  Japan.  This  hatred 
was  intensified  by  various  acts  which  were  in- 
terpreted as  being  unwarranted  aggression  on 
a  defenseless  neighbor,  among  them  disregard 
of  Chinese  rights  in  Shantung,  aid  to  re- 
volts, and  demands  for  excessive  indemnity  for 
losses  during  the  rebellion  of  1913. 

In  August,  1916,  a  dispute  between  a  Japa- 
nese merchant  and  a  Chinese  soldier  in  Cheng- 
chiatun,  near  the  border  between  Manchuria 
and  Mongolia,  led  to  a  clash  between  the  troops 
of  the  two  countries  that  were  there  and  to  loss 
of  life  on  both  sides.  There  at  once  arose  an 
outcry  in  the  two  nations  and  although  the 
Japanese  forces  had  had  no  right  to  be  in  the 
town,  Tokyo  submitted  some  rather  severe  de- 
mands. Peking  stoutly  resisted  most  of  these, 
for  they  threatened  a  further  loss  of  sover- 
eignty in  South  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Inner 
Mongolia.  Tokyo  relented,  perhaps  because  of 
the  danger  of  further  alienating  the  Chinese, 
and  the  trouble  was  settled  in  January,  1917, 
by  the  Chinese  agreeing  to  apologize,  to  pun- 
ish the  officers  who  were  responsible  for  the 
trouble,  to  pay  a  small  solatium  to  the  Japa- 
nese merchant  who  was  first  involved,  and 

225 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

to  issue  proclamations  for  the  protection  of 
Japanese  soldiers  and  civilians  in  districts 
where  these  were  to  be  found. 

The  leniency  of  Japan  in  the  Chengchiatun 
incident  did  not  indicate  any  change  in  her 
purpose  to  take  advantage  of  the  war  to  make 
secure  her  position  in  China.  On  this  she  was 
as  determined  as  ever.  In  July,  1916,  she  en- 
tered into  an  agreement  with  Russia  for  the 
protection  of  the  interests  of  the  two  countries 
in  China.  In  February  and  March,  1917,  she 
obtained  the  secret  promise  of  Great  Britain 
and  France  that  they  would  support  her  claims 
at  the  peace  settlement  to  the  German  holdings 
in  Shantung  and  she  had  the  assurance  that  the 
Russian  and  Italian  governments  would  offer 
no  objection.  All  of  the  motives  that  led  the 
Entente  Powers  to  give  these  pledges  to  Japan 
have  not  been  made  public,  but  the  existence  of 
the  agreements  was  later  to  bear  fruit  at  Paris. 

While  these  events  were  transpiring  in  her 
foreign  relations,  China  was  endeavoring  to  set 
her  house  in  order.  The  reassembled  National 
Assembly,  or  Parliament,  was  at  work  on  a 
permanent  constitution  for  the  republic,  the 
country  seemed  to  have  confidence  in  its  hon- 
est president,  Li  Yiian  Hung,  and  it  looked  as 

226 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

though  reorganization  was  to  be  achieved  and 
the  continued  progress  of  the  country  assured. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  European  War,  indeed, 
or  could  China  have  been  let  alone  by  the 
Powers,  it  is  entirely  possible  that  these  hopes 
would  have  been  realized.  Early  in  1917,  how- 
ever, new  events  led  China  into  the  great  strug- 
gle as  a  nominally  active  participant,  and 
brought  upon  her  weakening  and  prolonged 
civil  strife.  In  February,  1917,  the  United 
States,  at  last  driven  out  of  her  neutrality  by 
the  renewal  of  unrestricted  submarine  warfare 
by  Germany,  severed  diplomatic  relations  with 
Berlin  and  sent  notes  to  the  neutrals  of  the 
world  inviting  them  to  do  likewise.  One  of 
these  notes  came  to  Peking  and  started  a  chain 
of  momentous  events.  China  had  so  far  kept 
out  of  the  struggle.  If  anything,  she  had  been 
pro-German.  The  fact  that  Japan  was  asso- 
ciated with  the  Entente  Powers  was  in  itself 
enough  to  alienate  Chinese  sympathies  from 
them  and  their  cause.  Added  to  this  the 
French  had  in  1916  forcibly  added  to  their  con- 
cession in  Tientsin  several  hundred  acres  of 
land  which  they  had  long  coveted,  and  had 
thus  brought  on  themselves  a  boycott  and  a 

great  outcry  from  the  Chinese.  The  Germans 

227 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF   CHINA 

had,  moreover,  been  active  with  their  propa- 
ganda and  the  northern  military  chiefs  were 
not  unfavorably  disposed  to  them.  On  the 
other  hand  China  had  already  been  giving  pas- 
sive aid  to  the  Allies  by  offering  no  opposition 
to  the  recruiting  of  coolies  in  Shantung  for 
labor  behind  the  lines  in  France.  The  United 
States  was  popular  with  the  younger,  more 
democratic  and  progressive  groups  in  the  re- 
public, and  the  masses  of  the  nation,  so  far  as 
they  had  any  opinion,  were  friendly  toward  her. 
Americans  in  Peking  brought  active  pressure 
to  bear  on  the  authorities,  and  on  March  14, 
1917,  China  broke  off  diplomatic  relations 
with  Germany. 

When,  in  April,  1917,  the  United  States  for- 
mally entered  the  war  against  the  Central 
Powers,  the  question  arose  whether  China 
should  follow  her  in  this  further  and  more  seri- 
ous step.  It  is  probable  that  the  majority  of 
the  thinking  men  of  the  nation  were  in  favor 
of  doing  so.  The  process  of  declaring  war,  how- 
ever, led  to  a  struggle  between  the  different 
parties  and  branches  of  the  government  which 
was  to  prove  disastrous.  Parliament  was  con- 
trolled by  the  Southern  liberals,  the  party  that 
had  started  the  revolution  of  1911.  These 

228 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

wished  a  form  of  government  in  which  the 
president  would,  as  in  France,  have  but  little 
authority,  and  in  which  the  real  executive 
functions  would  be  exercised  by  a  premier  and 
a  cabinet  responsible  to  Parliament.  The  Cab- 
inet, however,  was  dominated  by  a  group  of 
military  men,  largely  northerners,  led  by  the 
premier,  Tuan  Chi  Jui.  These  perpetuated  the 
tradition  of  Yuan  Shih  K'ai,  and  were  in  favor 
of  a  strong  executive  and  of  a  cabinet  inde- 
pendent of  the  control  of  Parliament.  Premier 
Tuan  had,  indeed,  favored  breaking  off  rela- 
tions with  Germany  without  referring  the 
question  to  Parliament.  Now  that  war  was 
contemplated,  he  called  a  conference  of  the 
military,  governors  and  their  representatives 
and  with  these  decided  on  hostilities  with 
Germany.  The  cabinet  accordingly  drafted 
and  presented  to  Parliament  a  bill  to  that 
effect.  The  members  of  Parliament  were  in 
favor  of  war  and  were  disposed  to  pass  the 
suggested  measure.  They  feared,  however, 
that  Japanese  influences  were  at  work  to  make 
Peking  subservient  to  Tokyo  through  a  war 
loan,  and  hesitated.  A  mob  gathered  on 
May  10  and  attempted  to  coerce  Parliament 
to  quick  action.  The  latter  held  Tuan  to  be 

229 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

responsible  for  the  mob  and  refused  to  act 
until  he  should  resign  and  a  new  cabinet,  not 
dominated  by  the  military  chiefs,  should  be 
created.  On  May  23  President  Li  dismissed 
Tuan  Chi  Jui.  Tuan  went  to  Tientsin  where  a 
group  of  military  chiefs  was  gathering.  These 
now  demanded  the  dissolution  of  Parliament 
on  the  threat  of  revolution,  and  led  the  North- 
ern provinces  in  a  declaration  of  independence 
from  Peking.  The  president  weakly  yielded 
to  the  Tientsin  leaders,  and,  contrary  to  the 
constitution,  dismissed  the  legislative  bodies 
(June  13).  The  members  of  Parliament  fled 
southward  and  encouraged  the  southeastern 
provinces  to  resist  the  military  party  of  the 
North. 

In  the  meantime,  Chang  Hsun,  a  military 
chief  who  had  gathered  a  force  behind  him  and 
for  some  time  had  been  astride  the  railway 
from  Tientsin  to  Pukow  (Nanking)  had  been 
summoned  by  President  Li  to  come  north  and 
mediate  between  the  military  junto  and  Pe- 
king. He  reached  the  capital  early  in  June  and, 
taking  advantage  of  the  prevailing  disorder, 
on  July  1  declared  the  Manchu  boy  emperor 
restored  to  the  throne.  Li  Yuan  Hung  sought 

refuge  in  the  Japanese  legation.    From  that 

230 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

shelter  he  asked  the  vice-president,  Feng  Kuo 
Chang,  to  assume  the  duties  of  president,  and 
once  more  appointed  Tuan  Chi  Jui  premier. 
Tuan  and  his  military  supporters  were  not  at 
all  minded  to  see  the  Manchus  again  in  power 
and  moved  promptly  against  Chang  Hsun. 
On  July  12  that  redoubtable  leader's  bands 
were  forcibly  ousted  from  Peking,  he  himself 
fled  to  the  Legation  Quarter,  the  bewildered 
boy  emperor  resumed  his  retirement,  and  the 
republic  was  restored.  President  Li  Yuan 
Hung  resolutely  refused  to  resume  his  office, 
and  the  vice-president,  Feng  Kuo  Chang,  auto- 
matically succeeded  him.  In  spite  of  the  fact 
that  the  republic  had  been  confirmed,  the 
southern  party  refused  to  recognize  as  legal 
the  government  which  held  Peking  and  from 
the  vantage  point  of  Canton  began  organizing 
armed  opposition  to  a  power  which  it  deemed 
both  unconstitutional  and  undemocratic.  The 
Peking  authorities  seemed  but  little  perturbed 
by  the  schism  and,  taking  up  again  the  ques- 
tion which  had  thrown  the  country  into  chaos, 
on  August  14  declared  war  on  Germany  and 
Austria. 

By  the  summer  of  1917  it  became  highly 

desirable  that  Japan  and  the  United  States 

231 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

should  have  some  definite  understanding  about 
China.  Japan  feared  an  active  American  pro- 
gram in  China,  for  it  had  been  the  example  of 
the  United  States  which  had  had  much  to  do 
with  China's  entrance  into  the  war.  Washing- 
ton had  protested  in  1915  against  the  twenty- 
one  demands,  and  had  in  June,  1917,  tried  to 
steady  the  situation  in  her  Asiatic  sister  repub- 
lic by  advising  her  to  maintain  her  internal 
unity,  even  if  that  were  at  the  cost  of  staying 
out  of  the  war.  In  November,  1917,  there  was 
arranged,  accordingly,  an  understanding  called 
from  the  names  of  its  negotiators  the  Lansing- 
Ishii  agreement.  By  this  the  United  States 
recognized  that  because  of  "territorial  propin- 
quity .  .  .  Japan  has  special  interests  in  China, 
particularly  in  those  parts  to  which  her  pos- 
sessions are  contiguous,"  but  both  powers 
denied  having  "any  purpose  to  infringe  in  any 
way  the  independence  or  territorial  integrity 
of  China"  and  agreed  to  adhere  to  the  "'open 
door'  or  equal  opportunity  for  commerce  and 
industry  in  China."  To  many  Chinese  it 
seemed  that  by  this  agreement  the  United 
States  had  basely  abandoned  them,  and  Pe- 
king came  out  with  a  statement  that  it  would 

not  "be  bound  by  any  agreement  entered  into 

232 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

by  other  nations."  The  phrase  "special  inter- 
ests" was,  indeed,  indefinite,  and  might  well 
lead  to  future  misunderstandings. 

The  years  that  followed  China's  entry  into 
the  World  War  were  to  be  filled  for  her  with 
perplexity  and  humiliation.  Her  participation 
brought  her  some  advantages.  She  canceled 
the  unpaid  portion  of  the  Boxer  indemnity 
which  was  due  the  Central  Powers,  the  Entente 
permitted  a  temporary  suspension  of  the  pay- 
ments due  them  on  that  indemnity  and  opened 
negotiations  for  an  increase  in  her  tariff  duties 
to  an  effective  five  per  cent,  and  she  was  as- 
sured a  voice  at  the  peace  conference.  She  con- 
tributed, moreover,  to  the  Allied  cause  by  per- 
mitting the  recruiting  of  175,000  of  her  citizens 
for  labor  battalions  in  France,  Mesopotamia, 
and  Africa  and  by  undertaking,  after  the  Rus- 
sian collapse  in  1917,  to  help  preserve  order  in 
Siberia.  However,  civil  strife  continued  within 
her  borders,  and  in  spite  of  protracted  negotia- 
tions the  North  and  the  South  failed  to  com- 
pose their  differences.  The  struggle,  originally 
one  in  which  the  South  professed  to  be  stand- 
ing for  the  principles  of  democracy  and  respon- 
sible government,  degenerated  into  factional 
warfare  between  ambitious  and  predatory 

233 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

military  chiefs.  Over  whole  sections  of  the 
country  the  central  government  had  little 
power,  and  brigandage  and  corruption  were 
rife.  To  be  sure,  in  1918  the  Peking  authorities 
gathered  a  new  parliament  and  elected  a  presi- 
dent, Hsu  Shih  Chang,  to  serve  for  the  five- 
year  term  ending  in  1923,  but  the  Southern 
leaders  and  numbers  of  districts  did  not  recog- 
nize his  authority.  The  country  seemed,  in- 
deed, to  be  disintegrating.  There  were  not 
wanting  a  few  rays  of  hope,  however.  By  the 
spring  of  1920  the  Southern  parliament  had 
all  but  broken  up  and  its  leaders  were  drifting 
back  to  Peking  in  the  hope  of  effecting  some 
settlement.  The  South  had,  moreover,  been 
represented  on  the  Chinese  delegation  at  Paris, 
and  there  were  those  who  insisted  that  al- 
though technically  divided,  the  country  was 
in  spirit  more  really  united. 

In  the  chaos  of  internal  strife  the  danger  of 
Japanese  aggression  loomed  ever  greater.  With 
the  collapse  of  Russia  in  1917,  Japan's  power 
in  Southern  Manchuria  and  Eastern  Mongolia 
was  left  without  a  counterweight,  and,  indeed, 
by  her  joint  intervention  in  Eastern  Siberia 
with  America  in  1918  and  by  the  latter 's  with- 
drawal in  1920,  she  seemed  about  to  supplant 

234 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

Russia  on  China's  northern  frontier.  Formally, 
by  military  and  naval  agreements  in  May,  1918, 
Tokyo  and  Peking  arranged  for  joint  action 
against  the  menace  of  disorder  from  the  north, 
and  Japan  agreed  to  remove  her  troops  from 
China  as  soon  as  the  war  should  end.  Since 
China  was  so  much  the  weaker  of  the  two  part- 
ners, this  enterprise  could  not  fail  to  be  peril- 
ous for  her.  The  situation  was  made  darker  for 
China  by  the  negotiation  of  extensive  loans 
with  the  capitalists  of  the  island  empire.  These 
loans  amounted  to  hundreds  of  millions  of 
yen,  and  as  security  the  Chinese  government 
pledged  railways,  mines,  forests,  and  industrial 
organizations,  thus  placing  the  country  still 
further  under  the  control  of  its  neighbor.  The 
larger  part  of  the  proceeds  of  the  loans  seems 
to  have  been  squandered  or  to  have  gone  into 
the  pockets  of  venal  officials.  The  charge  was 
made  that  the  Peking  authorities  had  sold 
their  country  for  their  own  private  profit.  Cer- 
tainly the  group  at  the  capital  was  in  part  pro- 
Japanese.  There  were,  moreover,  agreements 
entered  into  between  the  two  countries  for  the 
joint  control  of  the  former  German  railways 
in  Shantung  and  for  the  building  by  the  pro- 
ceeds of  Japanese  loans  of  additional  lines  in 

235 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

that  province  and  in  Manchuria.  Japan  was 
clearly  dominant  in  North  China  unless  she 
should  be  unseated  by  the  peace  conference. 

At  the  Paris  Conference  hi  1919  China  was 
doomed  to  suffer  further  humiliation  and  dis- 
appointment. Her  delegation  had  asked  that 
the  concessions  made  to  Japan  in  1915  be  can- 
celed, on  the  ground  that  they  had  been  ob- 
tained under  duress,  and  that  the  former  Ger- 
man holdings  in  Shantung  be  returned  to  her. 
There  were  not  wanting  those  in  China  and 
abroad  who  believed  that  the  requests  were 
reasonable  and  would  probably  be  granted. 
Blocking  the  path  toward  such  a  settlement, 
however,  were  the  secret  treaties  between 
Japan  and  her  European  associates  which 
guaranteed  her  the  Shantung  properties,  and 
the  Chino- Japanese  treaty  of  1915  by  which 
Peking  had  agreed  to  abide  by  any  disposition 
of  these  which  Tokyo  might  make  with  Berlin. 
There  were,  moreover,  other  difficulties  in  the 
way,  among  them  the  danger  that  such  a  settle- 
ment might  jeopardize  British  and  French 
holdings  in  China  and  that  Japan  might  with- 
draw from  the  peace  conference.  In  spite, 
therefore,  of  the  efforts  of  some  of  the  advisers 

of  President  Wilson  and  of  the  Chinese  dele- 

236 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

gation,  the  German  mines,  railways,  and  leased 
territories  in  Shantung  were  given  to  Japan. 
The  Japanese  gave  at  the  time  some  sort  of 
verbal  assurance  that  these  would  eventually 
be  returned  to  China,  and  they  had  earlier 
formally  promised  the  restitution  of  Kiaochow 
with  certain  reservations.  These  statements, 
however,  did  not  satisfy  the  Chinese  and  a 
wave  of  anti-Japanese  feeling  ran  over  the 
country.  It  showed  itself  in  part  in  a  student 
uprising  which  demanded  the  dismissal  of 
some  Peking  officials  who  were  accused  of  hav- 
ing sold  out  to  Japan,  and  in  a  widespread  and 
very  effective  boycott  of  Japanese  goods  which 
began  in  the  spring  of  1919  and  was  still  but 
little  abated  in  1920.  America,  too,  came  in 
for  a  share  of  unpopularity,  for  she  was  held 
to  have  betrayed  the  country  which  she  had 
induced  to  enter  the  war.  China  still  had  a 
little  hope  that  the  League  of  Nations  might 
aid  her  against  Japan,  and  although  she  re- 
fused to  sign  the  treaty  with  Germany  she 
obtained  membership  in  the  international 
body  by  becoming  a  signatory  to  the  Austrian 
treaty.  Japan  did,  indeed,  early  in  1920  offer 
to  open  negotiations  with  China  for  an  under- 
standing about  Shantung  but  public  opinion 

237 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

would  not  permit  Peking  to  comply,  for  to  do 
so  was  felt  to  be  tantamount  to  a  recognition 
of  the  Paris  settlement. 

In  1919  one  step  was  taken  by  Western- 
ers which  seemed  to  offer  some  hope  for  a 
constructive,  friendly  policy  toward  China. 
Largely  through  the  efforts  of  Americans  a 
financial  consortium  was  formed  in  which 
bankers  from  all  the  major  powers  but  Ger- 
many and  Austria  were  to  join.  The  purpose 
was  to  assume  the  international  control  of  all 
further  loans  to  China  and  so  to  prevent  the 
various  countries  from  acquiring  special  privi- 
leges and  threatening  the  partition  and  inde- 
pendence of  China.  Such  a  group,  if  rightly 
managed,  could  help  China  back  to  solvency 
and  financial  independence.  For  a  time  Japan 
refused  to  join  the  consortium  unless  Eastern 
Inner  Mongolia  and  Manchuria  were  excluded 
from  its  operation,  for  she  feared  for  her  hold- 
ings in  these  regions.  To  this  exception,  how- 
ever, the  United  States  would  not  accede,  and 
in  May,  1920,  Japan  withdrew  her  objections 
and  entered  unconditionally. 

Japan  has  hoped,  and  still  hopes,  to  lead 
China  into  the  new  age.  While  disclaiming  all 
desire  to  end  Chinese  independence,  she  feels 

238 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

herself  peculiarly  fitted  to  be  the  apostle  of  the 
Occident  to  the  Far  East.  She  believes  that 
she  understands  the  Chinese  better  than  do 
Westerners,  and  her  leading  spokesmen  have 
suggested  that  Europe  and  America  furnish 
the  capital  and  Japan  the  brains  for  the  indus- 
trializing of  China.  Just  what  the  future  is  to 
be  no  one  can  foresee.  It  may  be  that  Japan 
will  be  able  to  overcome  the  prejudice  against 
her  in  China  and  in  the  West  and  that  she  will 
succeed  in  the  peaceful  development  of  her 
great  neighbor.  It  may  be  also  that  her  vision 
will  not  be  realized,  but  will  end  in  disaster  for 
both  nations. 

The  revolution  which  drove  out  the  Man- 
chus  and  established  the  republic  was,  as  has 
been  suggested,  merely  part  of  the  great  wave 
of  change  that  was  sweeping  over  China.  The 
culture  of  the  West  was  rapidly  and  profoundly 
modifying  the  older  civilization.  The  political 
revolution  accelerated  the  change.  There  was 
an  eager  attempt  to  conform  to  Western  ways 
in  dress.  The  queue  disappeared  in  most  sec- 
tions, partly  because  it  was  a  badge  of  subjec- 
tion imposed  by  the  Manchus  after  their  con- 
quest of  China,  and  partly  because  it  differed 
from  the  foreign  headdress.  Foreign  clothes 

239 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

appeared  in  the  cities  and  became  the  style 
for  those  who  could  afford  them.  Strange  and 
ludicrous  sartorial  combinations  resulted  which 
were  neither  Chinese  nor  Western  and  which 
were  typical  of  the  confusion  in  all  branches 
of  life. 

Social  customs  began  to  change.  The  old 
rules  of  courtship  and  marriage  were  modified. 
No  longer  were  the  young  people  kept  separate 
with  no  opportunity  of  seeing  each  other.  No 
longer  was  marriage  arranged  entirely  by  the 
parents  through  go-betweens  without  the  cou- 
ple having  seen  each  other  until  the  wedding 
day.  The  elaborate  ceremonies  of  politeness, 
the  joy  of  the  older,  leisured  age,  began  to 
be  crowded  out  by  the  brusque  ways  of  the 
Occident.  The  old  aristocratic  titles  of  respect, 
nicely  adjusted  to  social  rank,  began  to  pass 
from  ordinary  usage,  and  common  uniform 
democratic  terms,  corresponding  to  "Mister" 
or  the  "  Citizen  "  of  the  French  Revolution,  be- 
gan to  take  their  places  and  to  be  applied  to  all 
classes.  Women  demanded  larger  privileges, 
and  the  spectacle  was  seen  of  Amazon  corps 
in  the  revolutionary  army,  and  of  a  group 
of  women  demanding  the  suffrage  of  the  na- 
tional assembly  in  Nanking.  The  suffrage  was 

240 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

granted  them  in  at  least  one  extremely  radical 
Southern  province,1  and  while  in  abeyance  for 
a  time,  was  in  1920  demanded  as  a  national 
measure  by  a  group  of  women. 

Throughout  the  country  even  the  man  in 
the  street  spoke  glibly  of  liberty,  democracy, 
and  the  republic,  and  began  to  express  opin- 
ions on  public  affairs.  The  new  ideas  were 
spread  by  lecturers  who  endeavored  to  instruct 
the  people  in  the  duties  of  the  new  age,  and  by 
a  growing  public  press  whose  language  devi- 
ated more  and  more  from  the  classical  toward 
a  more  easily  comprehended  style,  approaching 
the  colloquial.  A  phonetic  script  has  even  been 
invented  and  is  making  headway.  Telephone 
systems  were  installed  in  the  leading  cities. 
The  increased  use  of  the  telegraph  and  of  the 
postal  service  was  at  once  a  symptom  and  a 
cause  of  the  transformation.  Each  part  of  the 
country  was  kept  in  close  touch  with  every 
other.  All  important  actions  of  the  central 
government  brought  to  Peking  a  deluge  of 
telegrams  from  the  provinces  expressing  pub- 
lic opinion. 

The  feeling  of  national  consciousness  in- 
creased, and  patriotism  with  it.  These  were  at 

1  Kwangtung,  of  which  Canton  is  the  capital. 
241 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

times  seemingly  nullified  by  the  tendency,  ever 
present  in  China  in  times  of  disorder,  to  split 
into  warring  fragments.  It  is  remarkable,  how- 
ever, that  patriotic  fear  of  foreign  interven- 
tion has  so  far  kept  the  country  from  com- 
plete disunion.  The  intense  general  hatred  of 
the  Japanese  aroused  by  the  events  of  1914, 
1915,  and  1919  would  have  been  impossible 
two  decades  before. 

Government  schools  suffered  sadly  from  the 
unrest  and  the  financial  straits  of  revolution- 
ary days,  and,  while  recovering  for  a  time, 
were  again  disturbed  by  the  civil  war  that 
began  in  1917.  They  have,  however,  been 
continued  and  prosper  in  many  places.  The 
modern  type  of  student  is  more  and  more  pre- 
dominating and  is  crowding  the  schools,  both 
government  and  missionary.  He  is  often  un- 
ruly and  poorly  disciplined  and  not  so  given 
to  the  forms  of  politeness  as  was  his  predeces- 
sor of  the  old  age.  He  breaks  out  at  times  into 
riots  and  is  radical  in  his  ideas  of  government 
and  of  society.  He  pays  less  attention  than 
formerly  to  the  literature  and  the  ancient 
Classics  of  his  own  land.  He  puts  in  his  time 
at  Western  subjects,  especially  those  having  to 
do  with  government,  commerce,  and  industry. 

242 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

He  is  more  athletic  than  his  predecessor,  for 
military  drill  is  almost  universal  in  the  schools, 
and  in  the  better  ones  Western  gymnastics, 
competitive  games,  and  the  other  accessories 
of  physical  education  have  been  introduced. 
He  represents  the  transition  stage  through 
which  the  youth  of  China  must  pass  before  a 
disciplined  product  of  the  new  age  can  emerge, 
a  product  which  will  be  trained  in  well-organ- 
ized schools  where  the  curricula  will  show  a 
wise  combination  of  the  old  and  the  new  learn- 
ing. Already  the  newer  type  of  student  has 
provided  the  nation  with  some  extremely  able, 
well-trained,  high-minded  leaders. 

With  the  general  popularity  of  things  West- 
ern has  come  a  more  sympathetic  attitude 
toward  Christianity.  No  longer  as  in  other 
days  does  the  scholar  hold  the  doctrine  of  the 
missionary  in  utter  contempt.  No  longer  is 
the  membership  of  the  church  made  up  exclu- 
sively of  the  relatively  uneducated,  of  the 
lower  middle  class.  The  missionary,  as  an  ad- 
vance agent  of  the  Occident,  a  man  usually 
of  unblemished  reputation  and  frequently  of 
broad  learning,  has  found  himself  sought  as  an 
adviser  in  many  matters  outside  of  his  church 

work.   Evangelistic  meetings  have  been  held, 

243 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA* 

attended  by  tens  of  thousands,  large  numbers 
of  whom  are  of  the  student  and  official  classes. 
Thousands  have  been  enrolled  as  inquirers  and 
later  admitted  to  church  membership.  True  to 
the  new  nationalist  movement,  Chinese  have 
been  asking  and  have  received  a  larger  share  in 
the  leadership  of  the  church  and  independent 
Chinese  churches  have  here  and  there  been 
organized.  The  church  has  frequently  received 
notable  official  recognition.  Shortly  after  the 
revolution,  for  example,  the  president  asked 
that  it  set  aside  a  day  of  special  prayer  for  the 
success  of  the  government. 

Some  patriotic  Chinese  have  been  alarmed 
at  the  desertion  of  the  old  forms,  and  at  the 
threatened  decline  of  morality  among  those 
who  have  partially  abandoned  the  precepts  of 
Confucius.  A  movement  to  strengthen  Con- 
fucianism has  been  started  and  the  sacrifices  to 
Heaven  by  the  head  of  the  state  and  the  hon- 
ors to  Confucius,  discontinued  at  the  time  of 
the  revolution,  were  for  a  brief  time  reinstated. 
The  struggle  against  the  opium  evil  was  some- 
what abated  during  the  disorder  of  the  revolu- 
tion, and  at  least  once  since  then  there  has 
been  serious  danger  that  the  traffic. would  be 

revived.  From  tune  to  time,  however,  an  ear- 

244 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

nest  effort  at  moral  reform  has  been  made  all 
along  the  line,  for  traditional  Chinese  teaching 
has  inculcated  the  belief  that  only  a  righteous 
people  can  expect  national  prosperity.  There 
has  been  in  places  an  attempt,  which  has 
weakened  sadly  since  the  civil  war  began,  to 
stamp  out  official  corruption,  and  to  establish 
integrity  and  justice  in  the  courts  and  in  civil 
and  military  administration. 

There  has  been  an  effort  to  make  the  govern- 
ment more  efficient.  Extensive  changes  have 
been  instituted  in  judicial  procedure  and  or- 
ganization. A  revision  of  the  code  is  in  prog- 
ress. Supervision  by  the  central  government  of 
railways,  commercial  enterprises,  and  schools 
has  been  planned  and  in  part  begun.  Tax  re- 
form has  been  projected.  There  have  been 
some  successful  attempts  at  public  sanitation. 
Partly  under  government,  although  still  chiefly 
under  missionary  direction,  a  modern  medical 
profession  is  arising. 

The  changes  in  the  economic  life  and  organ- 
ization have  continued.  Foreign  manufactures 
have  continued  to  grow  in  popularity.  More 
railways  have  been  built  or  projected.  For 
some  months  Sun  Yat  Sen  was  in  charge  of  an 
official  bureau  whose  business  it  was  to  plan 

245 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

and  execute  a  thorough  system  which  would 
bind  the  country  together  politically  and  com- 
mercially. The  problem  of  the  currency  has 
been  grappled  with,  although  without  much 
success,  and  new  banks  have  been  established 
on  Western  models.  New  cotton  mills  have 
been  built,  and  Chinese  capital  has  commenced 
to  organize  on  the  plan  of  the  Western  stock 
company.  Extensive  reclamation  projects  have 
been  planned  to  extend  the  area  of  arable  lands 
and  reduce  the  causes  of  famine.  Agricul- 
tural and  forestry  schools  and  experiment  sta- 
tions have  been  founded  to  add  to  the  quantity 
and  the  quality  of  the  output  of  field  and 
forest. 

Prices  of  all  commodities  and  wages  of  labor 
are  rising.  This,  of  course,  is  due  largely  to 
the  forced  adjustment  to  the  price  scales  of 
other  nations  and  to  the  War.  With  the  ease 
and  rapidity  of  transportation  the  time  has 
passed  when  cotton  or  tea  or  grain  can  be 
very  much  cheaper  in  China  than  in  the  rest 
of  the  world.  Even  more  perishable  commodi- 
ties, such  as  eggs  and  meat,  are  exported  in 
cold  storage  to  other  lands  and  their  prices 
in  China  come  up  accordingly.  Wages  natur- 
ally follow  the  increase,  although  more  slowly. 

£46 


THE  TRANSFORMATION 

All  of  these  changes  are  more  in  evidence 
near  the  coast,  the  main  rivers,  the  great  high- 
ways of  commerce,  and  in  the  cities.  Away 
from  the  chief  centers  of  population  and  the 
main  lines  of  trade,  the  older  customs  and  ideas 
still  persist,  often  largely  unchanged.  The 
mass  of  the  rural  population,  as  in  all  coun- 
tries, is  the  last  to  change.  But  even  here  signs 
of  progress  are  to  be  seen.  The  Standard  Oil 
Company's  products  and  those  of  the  Asiatic 
Petroleum  Company  have  penetrated  the  re- 
motest corners.  Matches,  cotton  goods,  the 
products  of  Japanese  and  of  the  British- Ameri- 
can tobacco  companies,  and  even  patent  medi- 
cines, have  gone  everywhere.  China  has  at 
last  been  permeated  by  the  civilization  of  the 
Occident.  The  people  of  China  are  adjusting 
themselves  and  their  culture  to  the  ways  of  the 
industrialized  West. 


CHAPTER  VII 

PRESENT-DAY   PROBLEMS  OF  CHINA 

AN  account  of  the  history  of  China  is  hardly 
complete  without  a  discussion  of  the  problems 
that  she  faces  to-day.  These  have  come  partly 
from  her  past  and  partly  from  the  new  condi- 
tions of  the  present.  They  have  resulted 
mainly  from  the  attempt  to  adjust  the  civiliza- 
tion of  the  old  China,  whose  development  and 
characteristics  were  discussed  in  the  earlier 
chapters,  to  the  civilization  of  the  peoples  of 
the  West,  whose  coming  has  been  the  topic  of 
the  last  two  chapters.  Their  name  is  legion. 
They  affect  every  phase  of  Chinese  life.  Unless 
they  are  solved  successfully  and  promptly, 
temporary  and  possibly  permanent  disintegra- 
tion may  be  the  result,  both  for  the  state  and 
for  the  economic,  the  intellectual,  the  social, 
and  the  moral  life  of  the  people.  No  one  can 
accurately  forecast  the  future.  One  can  merely 
analyze  the  situation  and  in  certain  places 
point  out  tendencies. 

The  problem  which  most  attracts  attention  is 
the  political  one.  The  outstanding  impression 

248 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

is  that  the  balance  is  poised  between  disintegra- 
tion and  total  loss  of  independence  either  to 
Japan  or  to  a  group  of  powers,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  successful  reorganization  and  the  recovery 
of  complete  autonomy,  on  the  other. 

At  times  during  the  past  few  years  the  bal- 
ance has  seemed  to  swing  in  favor  of  the  for- 
mer, for  the  disintegrating  forces  are  many  and 
strong.  In  the  first  place,  China  has  partially 
sacrificed  her  independence.  Two  of  her  prin- 
cipal sources  of  revenue,  the  maritime  customs 
and  the  salt  monopoly,  are  under  the  admin- 
istration of  foreigners,  and  are  largely  directed 
to  the  payment  of  foreign  debts.  Through  ex- 
territoriality foreigners  are  not  subject  to  Chi- 
nese law  and  large  districts  in  her  most  impor- 
tant cities  are  under  foreign  jurisdiction.  It  is 
as  if  the  chief  business  and  residence  districts 
of  New  York,  Washington,  Philadelphia,  Bos- 
ton, Chicago,  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  and  San 
Francisco  were  governed  by  their  foreign  resi- 
dents and  were  guarded  by  foreign  troops.  It 
has  gone  so  far  that  the  business  centers  of  Han- 
kow, Shanghai,  Tientsin,  and  others  of  the  most 
important  cities  are  foreign  settlements  and  are 
in  practice  largely  outside  Chinese  authority. 

A  revision  of  the  treaties  by  which  these  con- 
249 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

ditions  are  enforced  is  made  difficult  by  the 
"  most-favored  nation"  clause,  by  which  priv- 
ileges granted  to  one  are  given  automatically 
to  all.  The  unanimous  consent  of  the  powers  is 
virtually  necessary  to  any  extensive  alteration. 
Moreover,  the  powers  which  surround  China 
are  jealous  of  one  another  and  selfishly  ambi- 
tious. So  keen  is  competition  in  the  modern 
world  for  markets,  for  raw  material,  for  a 
chance  to  invest  capital,  and  for  military  ad- 
vantage, that  as  long  as  China  remains  too 
weak  to  handle  herself,  each  power  is  afraid 
that  any  advantage  gained  by  another  may 
lead  to  a  disturbance  of  the  balance  of  power. 
They  all  insist  that  any  privilege  or  territory 
granted  to  one  must  be  met  by  similar  conces- 
sions to  the  rest.  Russia,  if  reunited,  may  seek 
more  advantages  in  the  North.  Great  Britain 
and  France  have  both  feared  that  another 
might  be  granted  special  privileges,  and  to 
forestall  the  possibility  of  losing  its  propor- 
tionate share  each  demands  special  conces- 
sions. Peking  has  played  the  dangerous  game 
of  offsetting  one  power  by  another,  but  it  is  the 
policy  of  the  opportunist  sparring  for  time.  It 
has  already  led  to  two  wars  in  which  China 
has  stood  by,  a  helpless  spectator,  while  her 

250 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

provinces  were  devastated.  Japan  has  viewed 
with  alarm  the  threatened  partition  among  the 
European  powers.  She  has  felt  that  it  would 
mean  the  closing  of  the  open  door  and  her  own 
industrial  and  commercial  death.  She  has 
taken  the  opportunity  of  the  European  War 
to  intrench  herself  as  strongly  as  possible  in 
China  and  is  now  unquestionably  dominant  in 
the  North,  and  that  in  spite  of  the  Chinese 
boycott.  The  United  States  has  been  so  busy 
in  developing  its  own  virgin  resources  and  its 
internal  markets  that  it  has  had  but  little 
economic  interest  in  China  and  has  attempted 
to  act  as  a  benevolent,  disinterested  friend,  but 
there  are  at  times  indications  that  with  the 
passing  of  the  frontier  and  the  increased  inter- 
est in  foreign  investments  American  idealists 
are  to  have  a  harder  time  than  heretofore  in 
overcoming  the  appeal  of  capitalists  and  mer- 
chants who  will  seek  at  least  an  open  market 
and  protection  for  their  surplus  capital  and 
products.  Were  China  left  to  herself  she  would 
probably,  after  a  period  of  exhausting  civil 
strife,  work  out  a  stable  government,  but  the 
jealousies  and  special  interests  of  the  powers 
cannot  allow  her  to  engage  in  such  a  struggle. 
Moreover,  the  Chinese  government  is  poor. 
251 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Its  system  of  revenue  has  been  based  on  the 
needs  of  the  simple  Oriental  government  of  the 
older  type.  To-day  it  must  assume  the  burdens 
of  the  modern  state,  of  expensive  military  and 
naval  establishments,  of  education,  of  health 
supervision,  of  inspection,  and  of  aid  to  indus- 
try, transportation,  and  commerce.  The  func- 
tions of  governments  have  enormously  ex- 
panded in  the  past  century  and  China  must 
conform  if  she  is  to  cease  to  be  the  victim  of 
powers  that  have  already  done  so.  Her  reve- 
nues could  be  largely  augmented  by  a  more 
efficient  administration,  but  this  comes  slowly. 
She  cannot  raise  her  maritime  customs  duties 
without  the  consent  of  the  powers  and  these 
are  interested  in  keeping  them  low.  She  cannot 
largely  add  to  the  price  of  salt  or  to  the  land 
tax  or  any  direct  tax  without  threatened  revo- 
lution among  a  people  already  jealous  of  the 
central  government.  Even  with  a  free  hand  and 
a  strong  central  government,  she  would  have 
difficulty,  for  the  masses  of  her  people  are  des- 
perately poor  and  every  increase  in  taxation, 
however  small,  means  added  poverty  and  un- 
rest. The  highly  efficient  government  of  Brit- 
ish India  has  found  it  extremely  difficult  un- 
der the  same  general  circumstances  to  obtain 

252       * 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

sufficient  revenue.  China  has  tried  to  put  off 
the  evil  day  by  borrowing,  but  this  has  only 
aggravated  the  evil.  It  has  necessitated  setting 
aside  large  portions  of  her  revenue  for  interest 
and  the  payment  df  the  installments  on  her 
debts  as  they  have  come  due.  This  has  re- 
duced the  amount  available  for  current  ex- 
penses and  has  necessitated  new  and  heavier 
loans.  Unless  her  revenues  can  be  largely  in- 
creased, bankruptcy  seems  inevitable. 

The  difficulty  is  further  enhanced  by  the 
divisions  of  the  country.  Each  province  is 
jealous  of  every  other  and  of  the  central  gov- 
ernment. The  South  and  the  North  have  so 
far  not  composed  their  differences.  Differences 
in  the  spoken  language  accentuate  the  division. 
Even  individual  cities  at  times  declare  their 
"independence."  Continued  united  action 
under  a  strong  central  government  is  abso- 
lutely necessary  in  this  day  of  fierce  interna- 
tional competition,  and  China  has  not  yet 
found  that  possible. 

There  is  a  further  handicap  in  the  lack  of  an 
ancient  royal  line  around  which  the  nation  can 
unite.  Japan  owes  much  of  her  success  to  her 
imperial  house  with  its  tradition  of  unbroken 
rule  and  to  the  intense  loyalty  that  it  inspires. 

253 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

In  China  every  military  adventurer  gathers  a 
faction  around  him  in  the  hope  of  overcoming 
his  rivals  and  dominating  the  nation  or  of 
carving  out  a  principality  for  himself. 

There  has  been,  too,  a  deeply  rooted  tradi- 
tion of  corruption  that  augurs  ill  for  the  disin- 
terested efficiency  of  officials.  Positions  are 
shamelessly  bought  and  sold,  and  used  as  a 
means  of  enriching  the  holder  and  his  family 
by  illegal  "squeezes."  Occasionally  monarchs 
have  struggled  with  partial  success  to  purify 
the  system,  but  human  weakness  and  tradition 
have  proved  too  strong.  Many  republican 
leaders  have  striven  manfully  for  reform  and 
with  noteworthy  success,  but  their  successes 
have  as  a  rule  been  local  and  temporary.  Some 
competent  observers  believe  corruption  to  be 
more  shameless  and  more  prevalent  under  the 
republic  than  it  was  even  in  the  last  years  of 
the  Manchus. 

There  is,  too,  a  frequent  lack  of  practicality 
and  of  persistence  in  reforms.  Great  plans  of 
reorganization  have  been  projected,  admirable 
on  paper,  but  impossible  of  speedy  execution; 
they  have  been  begun  only  to  be  abandoned 
for  some  new  plan  when  the  first  difficulty  was 
encountered.  In  this,  it  is  true,  China  has 

254 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

much  in  common  with  all  countries  during 
their  periods  of  revolution,  but  she  dare  not 
risk  her  future  on  uncertain  experiments. 

China  lacks  efficient,  well-trained  leadership. 
This  is  partly  due  to  the  dearth  of  men  who 
have  been  educated  scientifically,  a  dearth 
which  will  disappear  with  the  progress  of  edu- 
cation. But,  as  we  have  seen,  there  is  a  more 
fundamental  weakness.  The  family  system  and 
family  solidarity  are  poor  training  for  inde- 
pendent, self-controlled,  individual  initiative. 
The  size  of  the  country  is  an  added  obstacle, 
for  it  is  much  more  difficult  for  a  man  to 
emerge  as  a  national  figure  from  three  hundred 
millions  than  it  is  from  fifty  or  a  hundred  mil- 
lions. The  very  bulk  of  the  nation  both  calls 
for  an  unusually  high  type  of  leadership  to 
overcome  its  inertia  and  to  direct  it,  and  checks 
the  ambition  of  those  who  might  otherwise 
emerge. 

Against  these  weaknesses  there  are  several 
grounds  for  hope.  There  is  the  political  capac- 
ity of  the  Chinese.  Centuries  of  experience  are 
behind  them,  and  a  government  which  at  its 
best  bears  comparison  with  any  in  the  West 
until  the  nineteenth  century.  Long  practice 

has  established  the  tradition  that  the  keenest 

255 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

and  most  highly  trained  intellects  of  the  nation 
should  give  themselves  to  the  service  of  the 
state.  The  people  are  law-abiding,  peace- 
loving,  easily  organized,  and  experienced  in 
local  self-government.  A  new  wave  of  patriot- 
ism is  sweeping  the  country  and  has  had  prac- 
tical results  in  the  really  noteworthy  opium 
reform  and  in  a  restraint  from  bloodshed  after 
the  downfall  of  the  Manchus,  which,  although 
not  complete,  is  without  precedent  in  the  his- 
tory of  China. 

Then  there  is  the  economic  problem.  First 
of  all  there  is  the  growing  population.  No  one 
knows  just  how  many  Chinese  there  are,  but 
the  number  is  probably  not  much  less  than 
three  hundred  millions  and  it  may  be  more. 
Careful  estimates  seem  to  indicate  that  in  spite 
of  famine,  pestilence,  and  civil  strife,  it  has  not 
declined  in  the  past  hundred  and  fifty  years. 
During  the  earlier  more  prosperous  years  of 
the  Manchu  dynasty  it  rapidly  increased. 
Hand  in  hand  with  the  practically  universal 
ancestor  worship  has  gone  the  conviction  that 
there  is  no  greater  crime  than  to  die  without 
leaving  male  posterity  to  carry  on  the  sacrifices 
at  the  graves  of  one's  forbears.  Marriage  is 
early,  usually  before  the  bride  and  groom  are 

256 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

twenty.  Concubinage  is  common  among  the 
well-to-do,  and  for  women  respectability  and 
marriage  are  practically  synonymous.  Under 
such  conditions,  if  famine,  pestilence,  and  civil 
war  are  once  eliminated  or  considerably  re- 
duced, population  will  multiply  rapidly.  Ex- 
tensive civil  war  is  frowned  upon  by  the  pow- 
ers; famine  is  being  fought  by  Chinese  and 
foreigners  with  all  the  zeal  and  skill  of  a  hu- 
manitarian and  scientific  age;  disease  is  being 
reduced  and  will  be  reduced  much  further  by 
modern  medical  science;  voluntary  restraint  of 
the  birth-rate  can  come  only  slowly.  A  rapid 
advance  in  population  would  seem  to  be  inevi- 
table. Eventually  modern  methods  of  agricul- 
ture, reclamation  projects,  improved  methods 
of  industry,  transportation,  and  commerce 
will  provide  added  food  and  wealth,  but  these 
will  come  slowly.  The  immediate  future  would 
seem  to  have  in  store  increased  poverty  and 
unrest  for  the  masses  of  the  nation.  China 
cannot  find  in  unrestricted  emigration  a  relief 
for  the  congestion.  In  Manchuria  and  Mon- 
golia, it  is  true,  there  are  great  unoccupied  fer- 
tile areas,  and  in  many  parts  of  China  there  is 
wild  land  that  can  be  reclaimed.  But  the 
white  race  has  preempted  most  of  the  vacant 

257 


THE  DEVELOPMENT^  OF  CHINA 

districts  of  the  world  and  has  forbidden  other 
races  to  trespass.  Australia,  the  United  States, 
and  Canada  all  have  strict  exclusion  acts  di- 
rected against  the  Chinese.  They  are  not  per- 
mitted to  share  with  their  white  brothers  the 
virgin  lands  of  the  temperate  zones. 

The  economic  difficulty  will  be  augmented 
by  the  forced  adjustment  to  the  industrial  and 
commercial  organization  of  the  West.  China 
must  compete  with  an  Occident  that  is  the 
product  of  the  Industrial  Revolution.  Older 
methods  of  production  and  of  distribution 
must  be  abandoned  for  newer  ones,  or  inter- 
national competition  will  drive  her  to  the  wall. 
In  the  transition  confusion  and  distress  are 
prevalent.  Two  generations  ago  China  was  the 
chief  source  of  the  world's  tea,  and  tea  made 
up  the  bulk  of  her  exports.  To-day  tea,  pro- 
duced by  better  methods  in  India,  Ceylon,  and 
other  Eastern  lands,  is  competing  with  that 
from  China,  produced  by  older  methods,  and 
is  driving  it  from  the  market.  Its  export  has 
actually  declined.  Even  foreigners  living  in 
China  frequently  use  tea  grown  in  Ceylon.  A 
hundred  years  ago  Europeans  were  buying 
from  China  finer  cotton;  called  "nankeens/* 
and  the  Chinese  local  market  was  supplied 

258 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

entirely  by  local  manufactures  made  on  hand- 
looms.  Woolens  were  not  used.  To-day  the 
export  trade  in  cottons  has  ceased,  and  in  the 
home  market  the  native  hand-woven  cloth  is 
being  driven  from  the  market  by  the  products 
of  the  factories  of  England  and  Japan.  In 
China  herself  power-driven,  labor-saving  ma- 
chinery is  taking  the  place  of  the  older  meth- 
ods. She  is  being  industrialized.  Steamboats 
are  substituted  for  junks,  and  railways  for 
wheelbarrows  and  carts.  Cotton  factories  with 
modern  machinery  are  springing  up.  The 
result  is  distress  for  many  native  craftsmen. 

Moreover,  Chinese  commercial  organization 
will  need  to  be  readjusted  to  the  new  ways.  In 
place  of  the  old  partnership  with  the  check  of 
each  member  on  the  other  must  come  the 
joint-stock  company,  in  which  stockholders 
delegate  the  care  of  their  interests  to  a  board  of 
directors.  Only  thus  can  the  great  amounts  of 
capital  needed  in  modern  business  be  obtained 
and  administered.  It  is  taking  time  to  learn 
efficiency  in  the  new  processes,  and  Chinese 
business  honesty  has  not  always  been  equal  to 
the  burden  placed  on  the  directors.  Sad  tales 
are  told  of  misappropriation  of  companies' 
funds. 

259 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

The  situation  is  aggravated  by  the  confusion 
in  the  currency  system.  China  is  still  on  the 
silver  basis  and  subject  to  all  the  fluctuations 
in  foreign  exchange  which  that  entails.  Various 
kinds  of  money  are  in  circulation.  The  older 
standards  of  value  were  the  ounce  of  silver 
(the  "tael")  and  the  copper  "cash."  Only  the 
cash  was  coined,  and  since  it  is  worth  about 
one  eleventh  of  a  cent  it  could  be  used  only 
for  smaller  transactions.  Since  for  larger  trans- 
actions silver  bullion  was  used,  which  had  to 
be  tested  and  weighed  for  fineness  each  time 
it  changed  hands,  and  since  the  tael  varied  in 
value  with  each  district  or  city,  there  was  need 
for  a  uniform  coinage  of  larger  value.  This  was 
partially  furnished  by  silver  dollars.  Most  of 
the  dollars  of  a  generation  ago  were  coined  in 
Mexico,  but  there  later  came  in  the  Hongkong, 
Straits  Settlements,  and  American  trade  dol- 
lars, the  Japanese  yen,  and  other  pieces  of 
about  the  same  weight  and  fineness.  In  recent 
years  various  provinces  and  the  central  govern- 
ment have  coined  dollars,  dimes,  half-dollars, 
five-cent  and  twenty-cent  pieces,  and  copper 
cents.  No  one  dollar  is  universally  accepted  as 
standard  and  the  result  is  local  exchange  rates, 
often  varying  with  each  principal  city  and 

260 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

from  day  to  day.  Added  to  this  is  an  unregu- 
lated issue  of  paper  money  by  the  government, 
by  banks,  and  by  various  private  concerns. 
Much  of  this  paper  is  hopelessly  depreciated. 
The  result  of  all  this  is,  of  course,  confusion, 
and  legitimate  business  is  fearfully  handi- 
capped. Currency  reform  is  one  of  the  most 
pressing  needs  of  China's  commercial  system 
but  the  government  is  poor  and  the  existing 
chaos  is  backed  by  strongly  intrenched  bank- 
ing interests  which  profit  by  it.  No  permanent 
relief  has  yet  been  obtained. 

The  economic  situation  is  further  disturbed 
by  a  rise  in  prices,  due  largely,  as  has  already 
been  indicated,  to  adjustment  to  the  higher 
levels  of  the  West  and  to  the  War.  Since  the 
cost  of  living  advances  more  rapidly  than 
wages,  the  result  is  temporary  distress. 

China  suffers,  too,  from  the  lack  of  sufficient 
commercial  capital.  Capital  will  enter  in  time 
from  Europe,  America,  and  Japan,  but  it  is 
timid  and  insists  on  a  stable  government  or  on 
being  backed  by  its  home  government.  The 
latter  alternative  brings  with  it  political  con- 
trol and  further  sacrifice  of  Chinese  inde- 
pendence. 

China  is,  moreover,  handicapped  by  her 
261 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

bondage  to  foreigners.  She  cannot  levy  a  high 
tariff  to  protect  native  industries.  She  is  too 
poor  to  subsidize  manufactures  extensively. 
Many  of  her  best  mines  and  factories  are  con- 
trolled by  outsiders  and  are  not  operated  with 
her  industrial  welfare  as  their  object. 

In  spite  of  the  confusion  in  the  economic 
life,  the  situation  has  its  hopeful  side.  The 
Chinese  seem  to  be  men  of  business  almost  by 
instinct.  In  shrewdness  and  ability  they  are 
not  a  whit  behind  their  Western  competitors, 
as  is  shown  by  their  achievements  in  Hong- 
kong, Shanghai,  and  the  Straits  Settlements, 
where  they  have  matched  their  wits  against 
the  European.  They  will  make  excellent  work- 
men for  the  factory  system,  for  they  are  indus- 
trious, persistent,  frugal,  and  intelligent,  and 
are  readily  organized.  China  has  boundless 
resources  of  mine  and  field,  and  seems  des- 
tined, when  once  she  has  been  thoroughly  or- 
ganized, to  have  an  industrial  future  second  to 
that  of  no  other  land. 

Added  to  the  political  and  economic  problem 
is  that  of  education.  A  modern  state  even  of 
the  autocratic  type  must  be  based  on  universal 
education  if  it  is  to  be  efficient  and  if  it  is  to 
compete  successfully  in  industry  and  com- 

262 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

merce  with  other  states.  Education  must  not 
be  confined  to  classical  channels,  but  must 
include  technical  and  professional  branches. 
In  the  modern  state  the  training  for  the  trades 
and  professions  formerly  given  by  the  home, 
the  guild,  and  the  apprentice  system  must  be 
provided  by  formal  education  in  the  school. 
There  is  in  China,  it  will  be  remembered,  a 
strong  tradition  in  favor  of  education.  For 
centuries  civil  officials  have  been  recruited 
from  the  scholar  class.  In  wealth  and  beauty 
of  literature  and  in  eagerness  for  learning 
China  has  an  enviable  record.  Moreover,  a 
fair  beginning  toward  educational  reorganiza- 
tion has  been  made.  The  government  has  a 
number  of  very  good  schools,  and  missionary 
agencies  have  an  admirable  system  beginning 
in  the  primary  grades  and  culminating  in  col- 
leges and  universities.  There  are  beginnings  of 
technical  and  professional  institutions.  In 
medicine,  for  example,  the  Rockefeller  millions 
are  being  used  liberally  for  founding  and  main- 
taining model  schools  and  hospitals. 

But  China  has  only  begun  to  solve  her  prob- 
lem. Her  poverty  is  in  no  other  place  a  more 
evident  handicap.  Funds  for  public  instruc- 
tion are  limited  and  even  when  supplemented 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

by  private  contributions  are  woefully  inade- 
quate. The  function  of  the  state  under  the  old 
regime  was  restricted  to  the  examination  of  can- 
didates and  to  the  maintenance  of  a  few  higher 
schools.  There  was  no  great  system  of  univer- 
sal compulsory  education.  That  had  to  be 
built  from  the  ground  up.  Even  were  there 
state  funds  for  schools  the  masses  of  the  people 
are  too  poor  to  attend.  The  average  family 
cannot  spare  the  labor  of  the  children  for 
longer  than  a  very  few  years  of  the  most  ele- 
mentary education.  A  still  greater  immediate 
difficulty  is  the  lack  of  competent  teachers. 
These  must  be  trained  in  modern  school  meth- 
ods and  in  Western  learning,  and  the  task  of 
providing  them  in  sufficient  numbers  for  the 
fifty  million  or  so  children  of  school  age  is  no 
slight  one.  As  it  is,  it  is  impossible  to  find  suffi- 
cient adequately  trained  instructors  for  even 
the  schools  that  are  now  in  existence.  Many 
come  back  from  Japan  after  a  few  months  or  a 
year  or  two  of  training  in  the  new  learning  and 
pose  as  competent.  Although  the  preparation 
of  the  teachers  is  probably  better  now  than  it 
was  a  decade  ago,  their  numbers  are  still  fear- 
fully inadequate.  There  is  a  lack  of  good  texts. 
At  present  English  is  used  as  a  medium  of  in- 

264 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

struction  in  many  higher  schools  because  of  the 
dearth  of  manuals  and  other  modern  material 
in  Chinese,  but  this  is  costly  in  time  and  effort. 
New  handbooks  for  the  Chinese  language  and 
literature  must  be  provided  which  will  con- 
form to  the  standards  of  modern  pedagogy. 
An  admirable  beginning  has  been  made,  nota- 
bly by  a  modern  Chinese  publishing  concern, 
the  Commercial  Press,  but  it  is  only  a  begin- 
ning. 

Then  there  is  the  problem  of  language. 
Beautiful  as  is  the  written  language,  it  is  very 
difficult  to  acquire.  A  simplified  style  ap- 
proaching the  vernacular  is  being  worked  out, 
but  more  must  be  done.  The  character  must 
be  simplified  and  even  a  phonetic  system  must 
be  adopted  if  years  of  the  child's  life  are  not  to 
be  wasted  and  if  the  mass  of  the  common  peo- 
ple is  to  be  raised  from  illiteracy.  The  state 
must  look  to  the  schools,  too,  to  provide  a 
uniform  vernacular.  Ideal  political  unity  can- 
not be  attained  while  dialects  differ  so  greatly 
as  to  be  mutually  unintelligible.  Some  efforts 
have  been  made  toward  both  of  these  ends, 
but  as  yet  they  have  been  little  more  than  ten- 
tative. The  Chinese  must  be  aroused  to  crea- 
tive thinking.  It  will  not  do  for  them  merely 

265 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHIlSfA 

to  learn  what  has  been  accumulated  by  their 
own  ancients  and  by  the  West.  There  are  a 
few  indications  that  this  will  come.  There  are 
here  and  there  a  few  signs  of  original  thinking 
among  the  modern  scholars,  especially  those 
trained  in  Europe  and  America.  But  there  are 
only  a  few,  scarcely  enough  as  yet  to  give  a 
firm  foundation  for  the  claim  that  China  is 
again  to  be  the  home  of  a  growing  civilization 
that  will  add  largely  to  the  treasures  of  the 
world's  culture. 

.  Then  there  are  the  problems  of  family  life, 
of  social  relationships,  and  the  closely  related 
ones  of  physical  well-being,  morality,  and  reli- 
gion. The  revolution  in  China  has  extended, 
as  we  have  seen,  to  all  these  phases  of  the  na- 
tion's life.  Old  social  customs  are  changing. 
There  is  more  freedom  of  intercourse  between 
the  sexes,  and  altered  customs  of  engagement 
and  marriage.  There  are  new  ideas  of  the 
status  of  women.  With  the  passing  of  the  an- 
cient conventions  the  moral  restraints  which 
they  enforce  are  apt  to  be  loosened.  It  is  not 
that  Occidental  customs  do  not  embody  just  as 
high  moral  ideas,  but  that  the  liberty  which 
the  change  involves  is  apt  to  breed  license. 
The  story  comes  from  an  interior  city  of  one 

2U6 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

woman  of  good  social  standing  whose  idea  of 
the  liberty  of  the  new  age  expressed  itself  in 
standing  for  hours  at  a  street  corner,  smoking 
foreign  cigarettes.  The  family  ties  are  apt  to 
be  loosened,  and  with  the  weakening  of  family 
solidarity  are  likely  to  go  much  of  the  whole- 
some restraint  and  deference  to  authority  that 
it  embodied.  With  the  passing  of  time-hon- 
ored styles  of  dress  is  going  the  older  courtesy 
with  its  elaborate  ritual  of  politeness.  The 
result  for  a  time  is  rudeness  and  the  end  of 
much  of  that  fine  art  of  living  which  the  gentle- 
men of  the  past  generation  possessed  to  a  high 
degree.  The  deference  to  teachers  is  not  what 
it  once  was.  Riots  and  strikes  against  school 
authorities  are  almost  universal.  Youths  who 
breathe  such  an  atmosphere  do  not  readily 
submit  themselves  to  the  state  or  to  the  will  of 
the  majority. 

With  the  industrializing  of  China  will  come 
all  the  questions  of  our  complex  modern  life. 
Her  cities,  already  congested  and  possessed  of 
a  minimum  of  sanitation,  will  increase  in  size. 
Some  are  already  doing  so.  With  their  growth 
will  arise  added  problems  of  public  health  and 
morals,  of  poverty  and  of  the  slum.  The  fac- 
tory system  of  labor  will,  unless  carefully  con- 
Be? 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

trolled,  bring  with  it  all  the  evils  that  state 
regulation  in  the  West  has  even  now  only  par- 
tially met.  Already  in  the  cotton  mills  in 
Shanghai  and  in  match  factories  at  Tientsin 
there  have  appeared  the  too  familiar  exploita- 
tion of  the  labor  of  women  and  children  by  low 
wages,  long  hours,  and  insufficient  precautions 
against  disease  and  accident. 

Moreover,  the  older  faiths  are  threatened. 
Buddhism,  Taoism,  and  Confucianism  at  times 
share  in  the  disfavor  in  which  the  old  order  is 
held  by  the  new.  The  superstitious  elements 
in  these  faiths  cannot  stand  before  modern 
science,  and  their  followers  fail  to  discriminate 
between  the  true  and  the  false,  but  cast  over 
the  one  with  the  other.  Taoism  has  in  it  but 
little  that  is  not  superstitious,  and  seems 
doomed,  although  for  the  time  it  may  enjoy  a 
revived  popularity  from  the  fact  that  many  of 
its  gods  are  deified  national  heroes,  and  may 
maintain  itself  for  years  on  popular  credulity. 
Buddhism  has  much  more  of  solid  value  and 
may  succeed  in  freeing  itself  sufficiently  from 
its  crasser  elements  to  minister  permanently  to 
the  deeper  spiritual  longings  of  the  nation. 
The  religious  elements  in  Confucianism  are 
relatively  so  subordinated  to  the  ethical  that 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

at  times  it  is  questioned  whether  it  can  prop- 
erly be  called  a  religion.  Much  of  the  ethics  of 
Confucianism  will  unquestionably  survive  and 
deservedly  so,  but  with  the  loosening  of  family 
ties  ancestor  worship  which  is  so  fundamental 
to  them  will  probably  be  less  important.  The 
social  structure  and  the  religious  structure  of 
China  are  so  interwoven  that  one  cannot  well 
be  changed  without  the  other  suffering.  Is 
China  in  the  end  to  lose  much  or  all  of  her 
faith,  and  to  become  a  materialistic  nation, 
centering  itself  on  physical  wealth  and  force 
and  forgetting  the  things  of  the  spirit? 

With  all  this  disintegration  of  the  old,  how- 
ever, there  are  signs  of  hope  for  the  future. 
Here  and  there  cities  are  planning  enlarged 
streets,  boulevards,  and  parks  in  place  of  the 
city  wall,  and  the  introduction  of  pure  water 
and  the  sanitary  disposal  of  sewage.  Electric 
lighting  is  being  widely  introduced,  an  im- 
proved police  service  is  being  attempted,  and 
thoughtful  leaders  are  taking  to  heart  the 
lessons  learned  by  the  industrialized  West. 

Christianity  seems  to  have  a  bright  future 
as  a  regenerating  influence.  Its  following  is 
rapidly  increasing  both  in  numbers  and  qual- 
ity. The  missionaries  are  able  and  statesman- 

269 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

like.  They  are  as  a  rule  chosen  carefully  and 
include  many  of  the  finest  representatives  of 
the  culture,  character,  and  faith  of  the  Occi- 
dent. They  are  attempting  to  avoid  the  mis- 
takes that  the  church  has  made  in  the  West. 
There  is  an  earnest  effort  at  cooperation  be- 
tween the  various  Christian  bodies  and  many 
dream  of  unity  and  of  a  single  national 
church.  The  church  is  making  the  attempt  to 
exert  a  leavening  influence  in  all  phases  of 
Chinese  life:  through  the  school,  the  hospital, 
literature,  and  the  activities  that  center  around 
its  services  Chinese  life  is  being  touched 
at  all  angles.  The  social  message  of  the  New 
Testament  is  being  stressed,  and  this  side  of 
Christianity,  the  emphasis  on  which  is  so 
characteristic  of  the  present  generation,  seems 
singularly  congenial  to  the  best  traditions  of 
China.  The  emphasis  upon  the  regeneration  of 
human  society,  the  bringing  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Heaven  in  this  life,  coincides  in  general  with 
the  aim  of  the  best  of  the  teachings  of  Con- 
fucius and  his  followers.  Confucianism  and 
Buddhism  have  opened  the  way  for  the  eth- 
ical teachings  of  Christianity.  Buddhism  and 
Taoism  have  fostered  the  mystical  tendencies 

of  the  Chinese  and  have  prepared  the  ground 

270 


PRESENT-DAY  PROBLEMS 

for  the  elements  of  elevated  mysticism  which 
are  so  vital  a  part  of  the  message  of  the  Chris- 
tian Church. 

Moreover,  missionaries  are  more  and  more 
sharing  the  direction  of  the  church  with  the 
Chinese,  in  a  spirit  which  appeals  to  the  new 
patriotism  and  which  tends  to  create  that  inde- 
pendence and  self-support  in  the  church  that  is 
the  ideal  of  all  foreign  missionary  endeavor. 
As  a  result  the  Christian  Church  seems  to  have 
a  large  future  as  a  force  for  the  regeneration 
of  the  new  China.  It  has  ethical  standards  in 
accord  with  and  reinforcing  the  best  of  the 
older  Chinese  systems.  Its  high  religious  faith 
can  inspire  the  people  and  their  leaders  with 
the  courage,  initiative,  self-control,  patience, 
and  self-forgetfulness  which  are  so  sorely 
needed  in  the  China  of  to-day.  If  it  is  to  be 
permanent  in  China,  Christianity  must  assim- 
ilate the  best  in  the  older  religious  and  ethical 
systems  of  the  land.  That  means  that  it  must 
be  modified,  that  it  must  take  over  some  of  the 
older  national  customs  and  holidays,  that  it 
must  restate  its  theology  in  terms  more  in 
accord  with  the  traditional  thought  of  China. 
But  it  can  do  all  these  without  in  any  way 
sacrificing  its  essential  elements. 

271 


THE  DEVELOPMENT  OF  CHINA 

Such,  then,  are  the  problems  of  China.  They 
are  many  and  serious  and  at  times  it  seems 
doubtful  whether  they  will  be  solved.  Those 
who  know  the  Chinese  most  intimately,  how- 
ever, seem  to  have  the  most  faith  in  their  fu- 
ture. The  natural  stability  of  the  people,  their 
admirable  qualities  of  head  and  heart,  appar- 
ently equal  to  that  of  any  other  race,  their 
mighty  past,  the  virgin  resources  of  their  fa- 
vored land,  all  seem  to  augur  for  them  a  great 
future.  It  may  be  that  for  a  time  they  will  be 
divided  and  even  lose  their  national  inde- 
pendence. That  has  happened  before,  and  a 
proverb  of  theirs  says  that  when  the  nation 
has  long  been  united  it  must  for  a  time  be 
divided.  But  the  same  proverb  declares  that 
after  being  divided  it  will  as  certainly  be  re- 
united. That  reunion  and  regained  independ- 
ence if  they  come  may  well  be  accompanied  by 
a  high  type  of  culture  that  will  possess  original 
and  valuable  contributions  for  the  civilization 
of  the  world. 


THE    END 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

AN  exhaustive  bibliography  and  even  a  complete  list 
of  the  best  books  is  outside  the  scope  of  this  book.  The 
effort  has  been  made,  however,  to  give  a  few  of  the  best 
works  in  the  fields  in  which  students  are  apt  to  be  most 
interested.  With  these  as  a  beginning,  further  titles  can 
readily  be  found  in  larger  works  and  in  works  of  refer- 
ence. The  books  given  below  will  as  well  serve  as  a  good 
nucleus  for  a  useful  reference  library  in  case  it  is  desired 
to  form  one. 

Bibliography 

CORDIEB,  H.   Bibliotheca  Sinica,  4  vols.  2d  ed.   Paris, 
1904-08. 

The  best  and  the  only  exhaustive  bibliography  of 
works  hi  European  languages. 

WYLIE,  A.    Notes  on  Chinese  Literature.   New  edition. 
Shanghai,  1902.  xxix,  307  pp. 

This  is  a  brief  critical  bibliography  of  the  principal 
Chinese  works.  It  contains  as  well  a  list  of  transla- 
tions of  Chinese  works  into  Western  languages.  It  is 
sadly  in  need  of  revision. 

General  Books  on  China 

Articles  under  "  China"  hi  the  Encyclopaedia  Britannica, 
llth  ed.  1910-11.  Vol.  6,  pp.  166-230. 

A  brief,  but  inclusive  and  accurate  account. 
BALL,  J.  D.   Things  Chinese.  New  York,  1906.  vii-xii, 
816  pp. 

275 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

BASHFORD,  J.  W.  China,  an  Interpretation.  New  York, 

1916.  620pp. 
COULING,  S.  Encyclopedia  Sinica.  Shanghai,  1917.  A 

valuable  recent  reference  work  on  Chinese  topics. 
MARTIN,  W.  A.  P.  The  Lore  of  Cathay.  New  York,  1901. 

480  pp. 
RICHARD,  L.  Comprehensive  Geography  of  the  Chinese 

Empire.  Translated  by  M.  Kinnelly.  Shanghai,  1908. 

xvii,  714  pp. 
WILLIAMS,  S.  W.    The  Middle  Kingdom.   2  vols.   New 

York,  1899.  (The  last  revision  was  in  1882.) 

f~ 

This  is  still  the  standard  general  work  in  English 
'    on  China  as  it  was  before  it  had  been  changed  by 
contact  with  the  West. 

History 

BOULGER,  D.  C.  History  of  China.  S  vols.  London, 
1881-84.  (There  is  a  shorter  edition,  London,  1900, 
436  pp.) 

This  follows  largely  the  accounts  of  the  standard 
Chinese  histories,  and  attempts  little  of  independent 
research  or  judgment. 

BLAND,  J.  O.  P.  Recent  Events  and  Present  Policies  in 
China.  Philadelphia,  1912.  xi,  481  pp. 

A  verbose,  pessimistic  account  of  the  years  around 
the  Revolution. 

BROWN,  A.  J.  The  Chinese  Revolution.  New  York,  1912. 
x,  217  pp. 

A  hastily  written  but  readable  account  from  the 
missionary  standpoint. 
CHAVANNES,  E.  Memoires  historiques,  1895-1905. 

A  scholarly  translation  of  the  famous  Chinese  his- 
torian, Ssu  Ma  Ch'ien  of  the  Han  dynasty.  Valuable 
for  its  notes  and  its  voluminous  prolegomena. 
276 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

CORDIEB,  H.  Histoire  des  relations  de  la  Chine  avec  les 
puissances  occidentales,  1860-1902.  3  vols.  Paris, 
1901-02.  Scholarly  and  valuable. 

GILES,  H.  A.  A  Chinese  Biographical  Dictionary.  1891 
A  storehouse  of  biographical  detail  and  anecdote. 

GOWEN,  H.  H.  An  Outline  History  of  China.  2  vols. 
Boston,  1913. 

A  short,  rather  anecdotal  sketch,  burdened  with 
too  much  detail  and  too  many  proper  names  for  the 
student  unfamiliar  with  Chinese. 

HIBTH,  F.  The  Ancient  History  of  China.  New  York, 
1908.  xx,  383  pp. 

A  well-written  account  by  a  recognized  authority. 
It  is  probably  the  best  short  review  in  English  of  the 
period  before  the  Christian  era. 

HORNBECK,  S.  K.  Contemporary  Politics  in  the  Far  East. 
New  York,  1916.  xii,  466  pp. 

This  is  an  excellent  recent  account. 

KENT,  P.  A.  The  Passing  of  the  Manchus.  New  York, 
1912.  xi,  404  pp. 

Li  UNG  BING.  Outlines  of  Chinese  History.  Shanghai, 
1914.  xix,  644  pp. 

This  is  in  English  and  is  edited  by  a  foreigner.  It 
attempts  to  combine  the  results  of  Chinese  and  West- 
ern scholarship.  It  seems  hastily  done,  however,  and 
its  last  pages  are  disfigured  by  an  anti-Manchu  bias. 
It  contains  some  interesting  illustrations  and  maps. 

MAcGowAN,  J.  Imperial  History  of  China. 

This  follows  closely  the  accounts  of  Chinese  histC 
rians  and  has  little  of  the  fruits  of  modern  critical  for- 
eign scholarship.  It  is  a  good  one-volume  summary. 

MAYERS.  Chinese  Reader's  Manual.  1874.  Reprinted, 
Shanghai,  1910.  xvi,  444  pp. 

277 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

The  best  brief  inexpensive  reference  book  for  prom- 
inent names  and  dates. 

MORSE,  H.  B.  The  International  Relations  of  the  Chinese 
Empire,  1834-1911.  New  York,  1910, 1918.  3  volumes. 

PARKER,  E.  H.    China:  Her  History,  Diplomacy,  and 
Commerce.  New  York,  1917.  xxx,  419  pp. 

PARKER,  E.  H.    Ancient  China  Simplified.    London, 
1908.  xxi,  332  pp. 

PARKER,  E.  H.  China,  Past  and  Present.  London,  1903. 
Both  these  last  are  readable  accounts  by  a  man 
who  knows  China  well. 

POTT,  F.  L.  H.   A  Sketch  of  Chinese  History.   Shang- 
hai, 1908.  xix,  224.   (Revised  ed.  1915.) 

This  probably  is  the  best  short  account  for  one  who 
is  fairly  familiar  with  Chinese  names. 

POTT,  F.  L.  H.   The  Emergency  in  China.  New  York, 
1913.  xii,  309  pp. 

A  brief  account  of  recent  events  from  the  stand- 
point of  the  Christian  missionary. 

REINSCH,  P.  S.  Intellectual  and  Political  Currents  in  the 
Far  East.  Boston,  1911.  viii,  396  pp. 

Ross,  E.  A.    The  Changing  Chinese.  New  York,  1911. 
xxi,  356  pp. 

Very  readable  impressions  of  a  trained  observer, 
who  was  in  China  for  only  a  year.  It  is  one  of  the  best 
of  the  introductory  books  to  modern  China,  but  it  has 
some  errors  which  a  more  intimate  knowledge  would 
have  rectified. 

SMITH,  A.  H.  China  in  Convulsion.  2  vols.  New  York, 
1901. 
An  account  of  the  Boxer  year  by  an  eye-witness. 

WEALE,  B.  L.  P.    The  Fight  for  the  Republic  in  China. 
New  York,  1917.  xiii,  490  pp. 

278 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

A  valuable  narrative  of  events  from  1911  through 
most  of  1917.  It  is  by  a  man  long  intimate  with 
China,  but  is  marred  at  times  by  an  anti-Japanese 
bias. 

WHEELER,  W.  R.  China  and  the  World  War.  New  York, 
1919.  ix,  263  pp. 

The  best  summary  of  China's  part  in  the  War. 
YULE,  H.    The  Book  of  Ser  Marco  Polo.  London,  1875. 
(New  edition  by  H.  Cordier,  London,  1915.) 

This  is  the  best  English  edition  of  the  travels  of  the 
famous  Venetian. 

Relations  with  the  United  States 

COWAN,  R.  E.  Bibliography  of  the  Chinese  Question  in 
the  United  States.  San  Francisco,  1909.  68  pp. 

FOSTER,  J.  W.  American  Diplomacy  in  the  Orient.  Bos- 
ton, 1903. 
Excellent. 

LATOURETTE,  K.  S.  The  History  of  Early  Relations  be- 
tween the  United  States  and  China.  1784-1844.  New 
Haven,  1917.  208  pp. 

MILLARD,  T.  F.  F.  America  and  the  Far-Eastern  Ques- 
tion. New  York,  1909.  xxix,  576  pp. 

MILLARD,  T.  F.  F.  Our  Eastern  Question.  New  York, 
1916.  543pp. 

Written  by  a  well-informed  journalist.  Anti- 
Japanese. 

SMITH,  A.  H.  China  and  America  To-day.  New  York, 
1907.  256pp. 

U.S.  Bureau  of  Immigration  and  Naturalization. 

Description  and  Travel 
BISHOP,  I.  L.    The  Yangtze  Valley  and  Beyond.    New 

York,  1900.  2  vols. 

BOREL,  The  New  China.  New  York,  1912.  282  pp. 

279 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

DINGLE,  E.  J.  Across  China  on  Foot.  New  York,  1911. 

xvi,  445  pp. 
GASCOYNE  CECIL,  Lord  WILLIAM.    Changing  China. 

New  York,  1910.  xvi,  342  pp. 
LITTLE,  MRS.  A.   Intimate  China.   London,  1899.   xx, 

304  pp. 

LITTLE,  A.   The  Far  East.  Oxford,  1905.  viii,  334  pp. 
D'OLLONE,  H.  M.  G.  In  Forbidden  China.  Boston,  1912. 
A  description  of  the  travel  in  Tibet,  Mongolia,  and 

West  China  by  an  expedition.   It  is  valuable  for  its 

accounts  of  non-Chinese  peoples. 

Social  Life 

DOUGLAS,  R.  K.  Society  in  China.  London,  1901.  xvi, 

415  pp. 
MACGOWAN,  J.   Men  and  Manners  of  Modern  China. 

London,  1912.  351  pp. 

SMITH,  A.  H.  Village  Life  in  China.  New  York,  1899. 
SMITH,  A.  H.  Chinese  Characteristics.  New  York,  1894. 
Both  of  these  describe  from  intimate  knowledge  the 

life  in  a  part  of  North  China. 

Political  and  Economic  Organization 

MORSE,  H.  B.    The  Trade  and  Administration  of  the 

Chinese  Empire.  Longmans  Green  &  Co.   1908.  xi, 

451. 
JERNIGAN,  T.  R.   China  in  Law  and  Commerce.   New 

York,  1905.  vii,  408  pp. 

KING,  F.  H.  Farmers  of  Forty  Centuries.  Madison,  1911. 
An  admirable  description  of  the  agriculture  of  the 

Far  East,  especially  China,  by  a  specialist. 

Language,  Literature,  and  Art 

BUSHELL,  S.  W.  Chinese  Art.  2  vols.  London,  1910. 

280 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 

DOUGLAS,  R.  K.  The  Language  and  Literature  of  China. 

London,  1875. 

GILES,  H.  A.    A  History  of  Chinese  Literature.   New 
York,  1909.  viii,  448  pp. 

The  best  brief  review  in  English. 
LEGGE,  J.   The  Chinese  Classics.  1861-72. 

This  is  the  standard  edition  in  English  and  con- 
tains valuable  prolegomena.  It  also  appears  without 
the  Chinese  text,  hi  the  Sacred  Books  of  the  East 
Series  (edited  by  Max  Miiller). 

SOOTHILL,  W.  E.    The  Analects  of  Confucius.    Yoko- 
hama, 1910. 

The  best  translation  into  English. 

Religions 

GROOT,  J.  J.  M.  DE.   The  Religion  of  the  Chinese.  New 
York,  1910.  vii,  230  pp. 

A  good  short  account.  There  is  a  larger  work  by 
the  same  author  which  is  exhaustive. 
GILES,  H.  A.  Confucianism  and  its  Rivals.  New  York, 
1915.  ix,  271  pp. 

This  is  chiefly  an  account  of  Confucianism. 
SOOTHILL,  W.  E.  The  Three  Religions  of  China.  London, 
1913.  xi,  324  pp. 
One  of  the  best  brief  summaries. 

Periodicals 
The  China  Mission  Year  Book.  Annual,  beginning  with 

1910.  Shanghai. 
The  North  China  Herald,  Shanghai,  is  probably  the  best 

weekly  in  English. 
The  Journal,  of  the  North  China  Branch  of  the  Royal 

Asiatic  Society,  Shanghai,  is  an  annual  publication, 

noteworthy  for  its  excellent  reviews  of  the  books  of 

the  past  year. 

281 


INDEX 


INDEX 


Administrative  conference,  213. 
Agriculture,  75,  87,  90. 
Americans,     begin     trade     with 

China.    80.    See    also    United 

States. 

Amherst  Mission,  143. 
Amur  River,  153. 
Analects,  25. 
Ancestor  worship,  132. 
Anglo-Japanese     Alliance,     198, 

218,  219. 

Animism,  18,  123. 
Annam,  59,  79,  168. 
Arabs  in  China,  9,  52. 
Architecture,  121. 
Arrow  War,  149. 
Art,  120,  121;  early,  19.  See  also 

Painting,  Porcelain,  Sculpture. 
Asiatic  Petroleum  Company,  247. 
Assemblies,  provincial,  205. 
Assembly,  national,  205,  213,  240. 
Assessors  in  mixed  courts,  160. 
Astor,  John  Jacob,  80. 
Austria,  231,  237. 

Banking,  95,  96. 

Boundaries  of  China  as  influenc- 
ing her  culture,  6-13. 

Boycott  on  American  goods,  206. 

Boxer  uprising,  191-95,  201. 

British-American  Tobacco  Com- 
pany, 247. 

British  East  India  Company,  80, 
143. 

Buddhism,  7,  9,  35-37,  126-28, 
268,  270;  comes  to  China,  35- 
37;  grows,  43,  44,  50;  under  the 
Sung,  55;  under  the  Manchus, 
70. 


Buddhist  art,  46. 

Bureaucracy  of  China,  31,  98, 103. 

Burlingame,  Anson,  and  his  Mis- 
sion, 165. 

Burma,  59,  62,  69,  79,  166,  167, 
183. 

Canals  of  China,  3,  93. 

Canton,  81,  162;  opened  to  trade, 
146;  riots  in,  149. 

Caravan  routes,  7,  8,  26,  52. 

Cathay,  65. 

Chang  Chih  Tung,  158, 192. 

Changes,  Canon  of,  25. 

Chang  Hsun,  230,  231. 

Characters,  110-13,  120. 

Chengchiatun  incident,  226. 

Ch'ien  Lung,  71-85. 

Ch'in,  state  and  dynasty,  26-30. 

China,  origin  of  name,  28. 

Ch'in  Shih  Hwang,  27-30. 

Chou  dynasty,  17-27;  constitu- 
tion of  China  during,  18. 

Christianity,  243,  269;  tolerated, 
151;  progress  of,  162,  163.  See 
also  Missionaries,  Nestorian 
Christianity. 

Chu  Hsi,  55,  74. 

Chu  Ko  Liang,  41. 

Ch'un  Ch'iu,  25. 

Chung  Yung,  25. 

Chu  Yilan  Chang,  61. 

Civil-service  examinations,  31, 
51,  56,  63,  70,  100,  101,  108, 
190,  194,  202. 

Classics,  25. 

Climate  of  China,  2. 

Clipper  ships,  149. 

Coal,  5,  184,  203. 


285 


INDEX 


Cochin  China,  168. 

Co-hong,  81. 

Columbia  River,  80.  __ 

Commerce,  94;  in  T'ang  times,  52; 

under  the  Yiian,  60. 
Concessions,  in  treaty  ports,  160. 
Confucianism,  38,  44,  50,  128-30, 

244,   268,   270;   influenced   by 

Buddhism,    45;    moulded    by 

Chu  Hsi,  55. 
Confucius,  21,  22-24,  25,  31,  88, 

70,  74,  129,  244. 
Conservatism,  133-35. 
Constitution,    political,    98-106, 

205,  214. 

Contending  States,  26. 
Corruption,  political,  104,  254. 
Cotton,  imported  to  China,  159; 

manufactures  and  mills,   203, 

232,  259,  268. 
Courts,  consular  and  mixed,  160. 

See  oho  Law  and  legal  codes. 
Culture,    Chinese,    materialistic, 

86-88;  indigenous,  89;  not  de- 
cadent, 89. 

Currency.  See  Money. 
Cushing,  Caleb,  147. 
Customs  duties,   195,  249,  252; 

regulated,   146,   151;  collected 

by  foreigners,  156. 
Customs  service,  156,  186,  205. 

Dalai  Lama,  77. 

Dalny,  222. 

Democracy  in  China,  187. 

Dialects,  geographic  reasons  for, 

4.  See  also  Mandarin  dialect. 
Doctrine  of  the  Mean,  25. 
Drama,  61. 
Duke  of  Chou  (Chou  Kung),  17, 

18. 
Dutch,  66,  82. 


Education,    107-10,    183,    164, 
263-65. 


Educational  Mission,  171. 

Eighteen  Provinces,  the,  defined,  1. 

Emigration,  169. 

Emperor,  institution  of,  98, 102. 

Empire,  reestablished,  215. 

Empress  Dowager.  See  Tz'u  Hsi. 

Encyclopaedias,  63,  74. 

England,  82,  167,  173,  183,  184, 
186, 188, 193, 197, 198, 212,  217, 
218;  dominant  in  Chinese  com- 
merce, 142;  first  war  with 
China,  145;  second  war  with 
China,  149. 

English  (language),  202,  264. 

Exterritoriality,  249;  begun,  147; 
developed,  160. 

Fa  Hsien,  44. 

Family,  the  institution  of,  19,  88, 

131-37,  255,  256,  266. 
Famine,  93,  136,  207,  257. 
Feng  Kuo  Chang,  231. 
Feng  shui,  124. 
Feudalism  in  China,  20,  31. 
Financial  Consortium,  238. 
"First  Emperor,"  27-30,  31. 
Five  Canons,  25. 
Five  Dynasties,  53. 
Five-power  loan,  212. 
"Five  Relationships,"  132. 
Foot-binding,  137. 
Formosa,  66,  69,  176,  180,  223. 
Four  Books,  25. 
France,  183,  185,  226,  227;  first 

treaty  with,  147;  war  with,  150, 

168;  aids  Catholic  missionaries, 

162. 

Franciscan  missionaries,  7,  60,  65. 
Fuhkien,  223. 

Gautama  Buddha,  35-37. 

Genghis  Khan,  58. 

Germany,  181,  183, 187,  188,  193, 

195,  212,  219,  221,  227,  228, 

231. 


286 


INDEX 


"Golden  Horde."  See  Kin  Tatars. 
Gordon,  Major  Charles  George, 

155. 

Governor,  institution  of,  99. 
Grand  Canal,  3,  60. 
Grapes,  34. 

Great  Britain.  See  England. 
Great  Learning,  25. 
Great  Wall,  13,  28,  75. 
Greek  influence  on  China,  9,  34, 

46,  122;  on  Buddhism,  37. 
Grey,  Captain,  80. 
Guilds,  92,  94. 

Han  dynasty,  8,  14,  30-40,  47. 

Hangchow,  3. 

Hankow.  3,  186,  187,  203,  208, 
222. 

Han  Lin  Academy,  51, 108. 

Han  Wen  Kung,  50. 

Han  Wu  Ti,  32. 

Hanyang,  222. 

Hart,  Sir  Robert,  157,  205. 

Hawaii,  emigration  to,  170. 

Hay,  John,  188. 

Heaven,  sacrifices  to,  244;  Tem- 
ple of,  129. 

Hideyoshi,  62,  177. 

History,  Canon  of,  25. 

Hiung  Nu,  13. 

Hongkong,  ceded  to  Great  Britain, 
146. 

Hsia  dynasty,  16. 

Hsiian  T'ung,  207. 

Hsu  Shih  Chang,  234. 

Hung  Hsiu  Ch'iian,  154. 

Hung  Wu,  61. 

Huns,  12,  13,  33,  42. 

I  Ching,  25. 

Imperial  Academy.  See  Han  Lin. 

Imperialism,  182. 

Indemnity,  195. 

Indemnity  students,  195. 

India,  78,  143,  199. 


Indo-China,  59. 

Industrial  Revolution,  97, 140-42, 
182,  258. 

International  settlement  in  Shang- 
hai, 161. 

Iron,  5,  203,  223. 

Irrigation,  18. 

Italy,  185. 

Ito,  199. 

Japan,  106,  173,  189,  193,  197, 
251;  adaptability  contrasted 
with  China,  11,  12;  reached  by 
Buddhism,  47;  art  of,  52;  rela- 
tions with  China  under  the 
T'ang,  53;  under  the  Ming,  62, 
63;  war  with,  174-82;  early  his- 
tory of,  174,  175;  Chinese  stu- 
dents in,  202;  interests  in  China, 
220;  demands  on  China  (1915), 
221-25. 

Jesuit  missions  in  China,  66,  88. 

K'ang  Hsi,  71-85. 

K'ang  Yu  Wei,  189. 

Kanishka,  37. 

Kiaochow  Bay,  184. 

Kin  Tatars,  54,  59,  67. 

Korea,  33,  48,  59,  180,  198,  200; 
history  of,  177;  Chinese  and 
Japanese  rivalry  in,  178;  an- 
nexed by  Japan,  200. 

Koxinga,  70. 

Kublai  Khan,  59. 

Kuldja  affair,  167. 

Kung,  Prince,  152. 

Kwang-Chow-wan,  185. 

Kwang  Hsii,  190. 

Kwangtung,  161, 189,  241. 

Kweichow,  33. 

Kwo  Ming  Tang,  212. 

Lamaism,  77. 

Language,  written,  20,  37,  110- 
16,  265;  spoken,  116-19,  265. 


287 


INDEX 


Lansing-Ishii  Agreement,  232. 

Lao  Tzu,  21,  22. 

Law  and  legal  codes,  70, 101,  205, 

246. 

Leadership,  lack  of,  254. 
Lhassa,  77,  217. 
Liang  Ch'i  Ch'ao,  189. 
Liaotung    Peninsula,    179,    180, 

181,  183. 
Li  Chi,  25. 

Li  Hung  Chang,  158, 179, 180, 192. 
Likin  duty,  begun,  155. 
Lin,  attempts  to  abolish  opium 

traffic,  145. 
Li  Tai  Po,  51. 
Literati,  137. 
Literature,  24,  25,  74,  119,  120; 

under  the  Han,  37;  under  the 

Tang,  51;  under  the  Sung,  54; 

under  the  YUan,  61;  under  the 

Ming,  63. 
Li  Tzu  Ch'eng,  68. 
Li  YUan  Hung,  216,  226,  230,  231. 
Liu  K'un  I,  192. 
Loess,  2. 
Lun  YU,  25. 

Macao,  65. 

Macartney  Mission,  143. 

Machinery,  absence  of,  91. 

Malay  States,  87. 

Manchu  emperors  and  dynasty  of. 
See  Ta  Ch'ing  dynasty. 

Manchuria,  76, 179, 183, 184, 186, 
196,  197,  198,  200,  222,  257; 
geography  of,  1;  partly  con- 
quered by  the  Han,  33;  and  by 
the  Tang,  48. 

Manchus,  13,  67;  conquer  China, 
68,  69. 

Mandarin  dialect,  118. 

Manicheans,  52. 

Manufactures,  92. 

Marco  Polo,  7,  60,  64,  65. 

Maritime  customs.  See  Customs. 


Marriage,  227. 

Medicine,  164,  206,  245,  257. 

Mencius,  21,  24,  25;  Book  of,  25. 

Military  Emperor  (HanWuTi),32. 

Minerals  of  China,  4. 

Ming  dynasty,  62-69. 

Mining,  91. 

Missionaries  and  missions,  Chris- 
tian, 148,  152,  162,  193,  206, 
244,  269.  See  also  Christianity, 
Franciscans,  Jesuits. 

Mohammedanism,  130. 

Money,  95,  96,  246,  260. 

Mongols,  12,  13,  58. 

Mongol  emperors.  See  Ytian  dy- 
nasty. 

Mongolia,  Inner  and  Outer,  13, 33. 
76,  77,  217,  218,  222,  225,  257. 

Moscow,  83,  197. 

Municipal  Council,  Shanghai,  161. 

Nankeens,  258. 

Nanking,  209,  216;  treaty  of,  146; 

captured  by  Tai  P'ings,  154. 
Nerchinsk,  treaty  of,  83. 
Nestorian  Christianity,  7,  52, 128. 
Newchwang,  185,  187,  197. 
Newspapers,  202. 
New  Territory.  See  Sinkiang. 
Novel,  the,  61. 
Nurhachu,  68. 

Odes,  Canon  of,  25. 

Open  door,  188,  197. 

Opium,  80,  203;  traffic  in,  144. 

Oregon,  80. 

Origin  of  Chinese,  9,  15. 

Painting,  under  the  Tang,  51; 

under  the  Sung,  57;  under  the 

Ming,  63. 

Paper,  origin  of,  38. 
Parliament,  205. 
Patriotism,  lack  of,  in  old  China* 

105;  growth  of,  256,  271. 


288 


INDEX 


Peiho,  151. 

Peking,  3,  59,  62,  66,  67,  83,  151, 

152,  155,  213,  217;  language  of, 

118;  siege  of,  193. 
Perry,  Commodore,  175. 
Pescadores,  66,  180. 
Petroleum,  5. 
Philippines,  65,  87,  188. 
Pidgin  English,  81,  160. 
Population,  64,  79,  136,  256. 
Porcelain,  63,  75. 
Port  Arthur,  179,  180,  184,  197, 

199,  200. 

Portsmouth,  Treaty  of,  200. 
Portuguese,  64,  65. 
Postal  service,  241. 
Presidential  term,  213. 
Prices,  246,  261. 
Printing,  invention  of,  54,  120. 
Pukow,  187. 
Punitive  expedition,  212. 

Queue,  70,  239. 

Railway,  172,  186,  208,  219,  245; 
Peking  to  Hankow,  186;  Shang- 
hai to  Nanking,  187;  Tientsin  to 
Nanking,  187;  Canton  to  Han- 
kow, 187. 

Reforms  of  1898,  189-91. 

Religion,  87,  122-31.  See  also 
Buddhism,  Taoism,  Confucian- 
ism, Mohammedanism,  Chris- 
tianity, Manicheans,  Animism. 

Republic,  209-26. 

Revolution  of  1911,  208,  209. 

Rice,  91. 

Rites,  Canon  of,  25. 

Riukiu  Islands,  176. 

River  system  of  China,  3,  93. 

Romanization  of  Chinese  sounds, 
117. 

Rome,  contact  of  China  with,  34. 

Roosevelt,  200. 

Russia,  82,  152,  167,  173,  178, 


180,  183,  184,  186,  188,  196, 
197, 198, 212. 217, 219,  235, 250. 

Russo-Japanese  Agreement  of 
1916,  226. 

Russo-Japanese  War,  198-200. 

Salt  monopoly,  249. 

Sanmen,  185. 

Schools,  21, 171, 190, 202, 206, 242. 

Sculpture,  38. 

Seoul,  178. 

Shang  dynasty,  16. 

Shanghai,    160,    161,    249,    268; 

opened  to  trade,  146. 
Shan-hai-Kwan,  185. 
Shantung,  23,  179,  184,  185,  186, 

221,  225,  226,  235-37. 
Shih  Ching,  25. 
Shimonoseki,  Treaty  of,  179. 
Shu  Ching,  25. 
Shun,  16. 
Siam,  87. 
Si-an-fu,  193. 
Siberian  Railway,  153,  180,  188, 

184,  186,  200,  219. 
Silk  and  silks,  34. 
Sinkiang,  13,  78,  107. 
Socialism,  104. 
Spaniards,  65. 
Specie,  80. 

Spheres  of  influence,  185. 
Spring  and  Autumn  Annals,  25. 
Ssu  Ma  Ch'ien,  37. 
Standard  Oil  Company,  247. 
Sui  dynasty,  47. 
Sumerians,  15. 

Summer  palace,  burned,  152. 
Sung  dynasty,  54-59. 
Sun  Yat  Sen,  208,  209,  245. 
Szechuan,  32,  33,  203. 

Ta  Ch'ing  (Manchu)  dynasty,  14, 
69  /.;  threatened,  154;  weak- 
ened, 157;  falls,  209. 

Tael,  96. 


289 


INDEX 


Ta  Hsioh,  25. 

Tai  Ping  rebellion,  164,  155. 

Tang  dynasty,  8,  14,  47-53. 

Tang  T'ai  Tsung,  49. 

Taoism,  44,  70,  268;  origin,  22; 

development,   28,   29,   38,   50; 

influenced  by  Buddhism,   45; 

described,  125. 
Tatars,  13;  conquer  North  China, 

54. 

Taxation,  102. 
Tax  reform,  245. 
Tea,  80,  258. 
Telegraph,  172,  203.    . 
Telephone,  241. 
Temple  of  Heaven,  129. 
Three  Kingdoms,  41. 
Tibet,  13,  76,  78,  107,  217,  218. 
Tientsin,  187,  193,  227,  268;  forts 

captured,  150;  treaties  of,  150; 

opened  as  port,  152;  riots  in,  170. 
Tigris-Euphrates  Valley,  influence 

of  ancient  culture  on  China,  9. 
Tokyo,  202. 
Tongking,  62,  168. 
Treaty  ports,  inaugurated,  146; 

developed,  160. 

Tseng  Kwo  Fan,  155,  158,  168. 
Tsingtao,  184,  203,  221. 
Tsongkhaba,  76. 
Tso  Tsung  Tang,  158,  168. 
Ts'ung-li  Ya-men,  165. 
Tuan  Chi  Jui,  229,  230. 
Tung  Chih,  158. 
Tz'u  Hsi,  49,  157,  191,  192,  201, 

207,  208. 

United  States,  187,  195,  197,  206, 
212,  227,  251;  first  treaty  with, 
147;  court  in  Shanghai,  160; 
emigration  to,  170;  exclusion 
acts,  170,  258. 

Ussuri  River,  153. 


Viceroy,  institution  of,  99. 


Village  government,  101. 
Vladivostok,  153. 

Wages,  95,  246. 

Wang  An  Shih,  55-57. 

Wang  Mang,  40. 

Wang  Yang  Ming,  63. 

War,  first  war  between  England 
and  China,  145;  second  war  be- 
tween England  and  China,  149; 
war  of  1914,  216. 

Ward,  155. 

Wei-hai-wei,  179,  184. 

Wen  Wang,  17,  18. 

Wilson,  President,  212. 

"  Wind  andWater."  See  Feng  shui. 

Witte,  Count,  183. 

Women,  position  of,  136,  266. 

Writing,  origins  of,  19. 

Wuchang,  208,  216. , 

Wu  Fu,  49. 

Wu  San  Kwei,  68,  72. 

Wu  Tao  Tzu,  51. 

Wu  Wang,  17,  18. 

Xavier,  St.  Francis,  66. 

Yale,  171. 

Yang  Chow,  sacked  by  Manchus, 

69. 
Yangtze  River  and  Valley,  2,  33, 

41, 105, 118, 151, 161, 185, 186, 

208;  riots  in,  170. 
Yao,  16. 

Yellow  peril,  181. 
Yellow  River,  2,  3,  73. 
Younghusband,  217. 
Yti,  16. 
Yiian  (Mongol)  dynasty,  8,  14, 

59-61. 
Yiian  Shih  K'ai,  158,  178,  192, 

204,  208,  209,  211,  212,  213, 

215. 

Yung  Wing,  164,  171. 
YUnnan,  33,  203. 


290 


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